I'll Come Back
by Sinister Scribe
Summary: Huddy romance, a bit more serious than my last romp but i try to lighten it, probably Cameron and Stacy bashing if i can manage it and explicit language and themes throughout Karen may be espescially offensive to just about everyone. FINISHED
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay…um, yeah. Second Huddy fanfic so, whoo!

This ones going to be a bit more angsty than my previous one and I had to kind of write it coz it was kicking me until I did (inc. at work which nearly resulted in a firing, oops!).

May be a bit slow on the updates coz I'm writing like three other things at the moment but I hope you enjoy my version of season three which may not be strictly canon because I am completely ignorant of whatever's going on with that whole thing.

Anyway, read and review, coz I'll cry if you don't.

**Chapter 1 **

House's eyes fluttered open. He drifted for a moment, unsure as to where he was. He groaned silently as pain registered in his side and his neck burned as he rolled his head. He flexed his long fingers carefully and then rotated his wrists. He did the same with his toes and ankles.

It was a ritual he had whenever he woke.

This was different though.

The sickly sweet smell of antiseptic clawed at his nose and he was aware of the irritation of an oxygen tube at his nostrils. He flinched as his eyes fluttered again and he tried to twist his head away from the tube.

Like all doctors he despised being a patient.

Finally he forced his eyes opened and blinked until he bullied his retinas into focusing on something in the shadows of late evening. He blinked again as his eyes adjusted to recognise the shape of one of the monitors, beeping steadily away to itself.

He rolled his neck carefully to look about the room and narrowed his eyes as he saw a bright splash of light of to his right. He blinked several times more as he realised he was hyper sensitised. The pull of the needle in the back of his hand, the itch of the blanket over his long frame and the glaring light from the small lamp by his bedside.

He realised a figure sat on a chair beneath the light but it took a few seconds for his eyes to catch up with what he wanted to see. He expected Wilson, his mother, maybe even Cameron to be by his bed but not her.

Never Cuddy.

She sat, at that moment oblivious to his consciousness, forward in the chair. She wore a pale pink sweater and worn jeans, her hair tied back in that Cuddy twist thing she did. Light spilled over her hair and seemed to halo it as she sat with her elbows on her knees, bare feet flat to the floor as she read a book held easily between manicured fingers.

He must have made some sound, moved in some way, because her eyes snapped up and met his as she bolted from the chair, she was at his side in a heartbeat.

"House, you're awake, obviously." He hoped that last part was directed at herself because he really wasn't up to answering.

"Do you remember what happened?" She asked him.

He nodded slowly as she fetched him a cup of water with a straw in it. He drank a few sips before mimicking a gun with his hand and then pointing to himself. "Shot." He managed in a croak.

"Uh-huh." She directed the light nearer to the bed, somehow knowing that the Ketamine would leave him hyper sensitive to everything, especially light, for a while. Her hands checked him over professionally and he managed a small smile as he thought of a whole bunch of one liners for the situation but didn't voice them. Too much effort. "You know we agreed on the Ketamine treatment, right? You remember discussing it with me?"

He nodded slowly. "I'm not going to sue." He tried with a smiling grimace. He swallowed painfully a couple of times before trying to ask his own question. "Shooter?"

Cuddy's face closed to him slightly as she spoke. "Security…security shot him before he managed to shoot you a third time."

Greg blinked as his only answer to that. "How long was I out?"

Cuddy smiled, obviously relieved that he was awake. "Nearly six days, we were getting worried."

House snorted, or he would have had it not been too painful. Sure, he had such a huge fan club after all. His eyes drooped suddenly and he rallied himself suddenly not wanting to sleep again.

He stilled when he felt Cuddy's hand on his chest. "It's all right, Greg, go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

It was her last words that allowed him to drop off into a dreamless sleep deeper than he'd ever had before.

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House awoke to a slap across the face. "I know you're alive, I can see you breathing."

House's eyes snapped open as he rubbed his cheek and glared at the abusive woman. Karen O' Clare grinned down at him as he scowled. The Ketamine treatment may have worked but his physiotherapist seemed to have taken it upon herself to drag him down into the inner circle of hell where she reined.

"What the hell was that for?" He tried to shout but it was more of a croak as his throat was still healing. He had been in bed for a little over a week and he was recovering quickly now that he didn't have the Vicodin sapping his strength.

"To wake you up…and because you missed my session. Again." Karen cheerfully informed him as she motioned for him to get up. "Come on, up and at 'em!"

"Piss off." House informed her. Karen didn't even blink. "I've been shot and I need to recover from an experimental treatment so I reiterate; piss off."

Karen's hazel eyes flashed between green and gold and then back again as her glare turned frosty. Her dark brown hair was pulled back to a tumbling ponytail and her tanned skin contrasted with her pale green hospital scrubs. Her rounded classical features were striking as she twisted her lips to a sardonic smirk and threw a bundle of pale pink hospital scrubs at his chest.

"I even brought you clothes this time, you ingrate, and I'll note it didn't stop you from getting out of bed yesterday to go and pester your team about your patient." Karen grinned evilly. "Now get out of bed before I toss you out." She threatened.

House looked her over and snorted. She was as small as Cuddy and perhaps a trifle slimmer, though she did appear to have wiry muscles, there was no way she could toss him anywhere.

House rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep. He heard a muttered 'I warned you.' Before the world tilted and he found himself sprawled on the floor. Pain throbbed from his wounds but the remaining morphine in his system took care of it.

He looked up, furiously, at Karen who was drawing the curtain around his bed in the ICU. "Damn it, woman, I could have popped stitches!"

Karen turned and looked down at him, her expression slightly bored. "Why, Dr House, who knew ye had two canes?" House shoved his hospital gown down roughly as she chuckled to herself and stepped through the curtain. "You have exactly three minutes tae get dressed before I come back in there, and if I have too, it won't be pretty!" Karen thundered before slipping away silently in her hospital slippers.

House just sat on the floor, stunned for a moment, before grumbling as he pulled on his pink hospital scrubs and damn, if they didn't fit him perfectly.

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House watched his feet track over the black reeling track of the treadmill with a slightly hypnotized expression in his icy blue eyes. The treatments he had been getting were gentle, as someone recovering from a bullet wound or two might expect, but that didn't mean they weren't strenuous. There was a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead as the incline of the treadmill increased.

"Stop watching yer feet, ye don't do it when you walk the rest of the time so ye don't do it when yer on the treadmill. Clear?"

House glared at Karen as she spoke. She hadn't even looked up at him as she ordered him about, her pen flickered over the pad in her hand as she wrote, he just knew that it wasn't a patient report.

She wasn't even bothering to assess him!

"Where are you from? Somewhere primitive I'll bet. What was the name of that island in the Wickerman?" House panted slightly as he tried to get a rise out of her. So far he had failed, she just didn't think enough of him to get pissed off. The only thing that got her even slightly riled was him missing a session and the earlier incident proved that it was worse for him not to turn up.

She had made him do the session the other day completely naked as he had sought to avoid the exercise by ducking into the shower. Wilson was still laughing about that one.

Karen just grunted a laugh as she continued to write. "Somewhere you've never heard of, Oreo, Americans are ignorant by nature, I don't think you'll be any different." She said dismissively.

She had also taken to calling him Oreo, God knew why. "Ignorant? I'm not ignorant, and neither are the majority of Americans."

"Uh-huh, then why is the championship of your baseball called the 'World Series'? It only has American teams in it. That's ignorance. America; land of the free and home of the dim." Karen grinned at him.

House glowered at her as he increased his pace with the treadmill. "You can hardly make a sweeping generalization based on one fact."

"That's what a sweeping generalization is, Oreo." Karen flipped her pad shut and stowed the pen in the spiral binding. She ambled over to the machine and checked the heart monitor on his wrist. "Stairmaster." She ordered as she switched the treadmill off. House limped from the machine and onto the other.

"And what has Scotland contributed to the world, hmm? Do you even have television over there?"

Karen programmed the Stairmaster as he began to move on it she lent on the console as she answered him. "Have it, darlin'? We fucking invented it. As for what else we've contributed to the world? Well let's see…" She ticked off items on her fingers. "There's penicillin, the birth of modern medicine; tarmac, the covering for modern roads as well as the rail network contributing to modern transport; the television and the telephone which when combined leads to computers and the internet. I could go on, but we've only got half an hour more to go and what have the great Americans contributed? The ball point pen and the atom bomb and I'll just bet the forefathers of Hiroshima_ loved_ you for that."

House glowered as she smiled sweetly at him. "Now be a good boy and do a few miles on this so I can do stretches with you and send you on your sorry way." Karen returned to her seat as House ordered himself just to leave it and get away from her as soon as possible. She flipped open her pad again and resumed writing.

A few minutes later came the agonizing stretches and exercises that he had to do at regular intervals on pain of death, or at least getting turfed out of bed again.

Then she measured his leg.

"What are you doing?" he demanded as he sat on the exercise mat with his legs out in front of him and leaning on his hands.

"Measuring." Karen murmured as she muttered calculations under her breath and measured the circumference of his thigh.

"Obviously." He grated. "What for?"

"For a leg brace. You still have to use your cane just now, but once I get this fitted for you then you should be able to go without it all the time. _If_ you keep up your exercises." She threatened.

House slackened in disbelief. "Oh." He said.

"Rather." She said by way of reply. Then she patted his good leg. "Right, you can go home now, boy, you're free."

House blinked before tilting his head. "Do I hear the strains of 'Born Free' in the air?"

"Whatever floats yer boat, hon." Karen said as she rose elegantly to her feet and helped him to his. "Can you manage to get back to yer bed without an escort?" She handed his cane to him.

"I'll muddle through." He muttered as he left the room. Using his cane, but only slightly. He tried to ignore the niggling burn for Vicodin in the back of his throat as he thought about what to have for breakfast. As a patient, he got a free breakfast lunch and dinner but it was so much more interesting to eat in the cafeteria. ICU patients were so boring.

He spied a light on in Cuddy's office and changed direction. It was too early for Wilson to be in, but he could always rely on the workaholic.

He slipped in through the door and opened his mouth only to click it shut when she was nowhere to be seen. He whipped his head around and winced when his wound pulled and itched. The itch was from it healing but that didn't make it any more tolerable.

He stopped when he espied a small Cuddy shaped lump on the couch. He ambled over and just stared down at her for a few moments. She looked so peaceful while she slept. She had loosened her hair or sleep had and it tumbled about her face as her sooty lashes made dark crescents against her sweeping cheek bones. She was curled slightly on her side like she had slumped over mid type, her laptop was still on, and she even still wore her shoes.

He frowned, since when did she work so late that she fell asleep at the office? He sat carefully next to her on the couch and continued to watch her as she sighed in her sleep and moved unconsciously closer to his body heat, she must be freezing as the air conditioning was on full blast.

Her shirt was low cut, as was her fashion, but he couldn't resist a peak at the funbags. Perky as usual he noted with satisfaction. He reached out and froze, his hand hovering above her, should he wake her?

It was still early, and people would talk if they saw her in yesterday's clothes but then again, what did he care if they talked about Cuddy? He had been grinding the rumor mill for years about them.

His stomach grumbled and he decided he wanted that breakfast after all. His hand came down on her shoulder and he shook it gently.

Nothing.

"Cuddy." He shook a little harder.

No response.

"Cuddy, wake up." She squirmed and frowned slightly before sighing and returning to peaceful slumber. He shook a little harder still. "Lisa, wake up. A donor's just pulled out."

Cuddy bolted upright and looked around a little wildly, still half asleep but the awake part was fully alert. "Greg? What have you done?" She rubbed a hand over her face. "And what are you doing in my bed…room?" She looked around and realized where she was and then she looked down at herself with a dawning sense of horror.

She groaned. "What time is it? How long have I been asleep?"

He tilted his head, since when was he Greg? "A little after six and I dunno. I came in here to mooch for breakfast and found you sprawled on the couch. Been burning the midnight oil a little too long, hmm?"

Cuddy rubbed her eyes and cleared her throat as she muttered. "Something like that."

Now that he thought about it, she looked awful. Her skin seemed more tightly drawn over her face than usual, she had dark circles under her eyes that yesterday's make up didn't quite manage to conceal and she seemed to be thinner in general.

"I think you should join me for breakfast. You needn't take all those comments about your ass being fat to heart, it's a good fat." He assured her with a bob of his eyebrows to mask his concern for her. Despite what he liked people, especially Wilson, to believe, he did actually have a bit of a soft spot for Lisa Cuddy.

"Hmm? Oh, right." She seemed to rally herself a bit as she flipped her feet to the floor and stood a little shakily. "Yeah. That's a weight off my mind." She slung her jacket over her shoulders as she gathered up her things. "I need to go home, shower…change." She seemed to be talking almost to herself in a voice that seemed a little more strained than usual. "Rain check, okay, I'll get you breakfast when I get back." She flickered her fingers at him in a farewell as she stalked out of her office and away.

House frowned, there was definitely something up. She would never have normally left him unguarded in her office.

Oh well, far be it for him to pass up a golden opportunity like this. There were always ways of finding out what he needed to know.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I suppose I'd better do one. I don't own House. M.d. or any affiliated characters, this just gives me some writing practice. If the producers wanted me to write for them I'm sure they'd drop me an email or something (I wish) and THAT I would expect money for as it is I have a penny, some ABC gum and I'm willing to share. **

I would also like to take this moment to say that I have little to no experience in matters of a medical nature unless they involve elastoplasts. Anything to do with physiotherapy, psychology (that'll come later) or the Ketamine treatment has either been taken from the program or extrapolated from common sense (I do have it, I just choose to ignore it most of the time).

Read and review coz it makes me smile.

**Chapter 2 **

House was longed on the easy chair in his office with his arms folded across his chest. He pouted as he turned the problem over in his mind. He had searched her office from top to bottom and sideways and he had found absolutely nothing to suggest anything was abnormal.

He'd even hacked into her day planner on her computer and turned up nothing.

He bounced his oversized tennis ball on the palm of his hand as he mulled the problem over. He looked up as the door opened to his office and scowled as a familiar figure popped her head around the glass partition.

Wilson looked up as well, he had been mid-paper read and he flinched as he saw Karen.

She nodded to him briefly and stepped fully into the room. House stared at the implement of torture that she held in one hand. "What is that?" He questioned warily.

She held up the black plastic and metal tangle that clanked ominously. "Leg brace. Now stand up so I can fit it."

"No." House said automatically.

Karen tilted her head and raised her eyebrows.

House lumbered to his feet and leant on his cane.

Karen sank to her knees in front of him and House looked over at Wilson a smile on his lips, his face froze when Karen next spoke.

"Considering how close my hands are to your groin, it would not be wise to make any smart comments about my position." She buckled the first part of the brace loosely over his upper thigh.

Wilson laughed softly and flickered his paper. "I like her." He declared as House scowled.

Karen fitted the next set of straps and buckles around his knee, calf and then his ankle and the last part would sit on top of his shoe if he wore one. She then moved back up his leg tightening the buckles. House watched her work carefully, he would have to fit it himself after a while.

When she was finished the brace hugged him from a few inches from the top of his leg to the top of his foot. Wilson had also looked over to see what she'd been doing.

"Is it necessary to have a full leg brace?"

Karen shot him a look that said it obviously was but relented after a moment. "The brace is to replace his cane, which has to support half of his weight. This acts as another muscle to reinforce his leg and compensate for the lost muscle tissue. Because the muscle loss was so high on the limb it needs to run from there to the base of the limb. In this case, thigh to foot."

Wilson nodded, pretending he understood. "Ah."

Karen watched him for a moment with her piercing eyes and then shrugged, she knew more than she wanted to about cancer but she didn't need to make a profession of it.

"Right, you can miss out the rest of today's sessions but in return you need to walk about and give this a trial go. I need to know if it chafes anywhere or rubs painfully. Let me know especially if the scar is irritated in anyway, we might have to put some webbing over it." Karen rolled to her feet and dusted off her hands as she spoke. "Unless of course you can tell it hurts now?"

House shook his head as he flexed his leg experimentally. It felt like someone was holding his leg together comfortably in an embrace. Rather like a woman had once likened a properly fitted corset to fell like, a supportive hug rather than restrictive. "Feels good, doctor." He said as he tried walking a few steps.

He turned to see Karen watch him move with slightly narrowed eyes before she nodded once sharply and left the room.

House punched the air, "Yes! No physio for me today!" He tried a little jig and was more pleased when he managed it. He looked over to see Wilson watching him. "What?"

"She's scary." The younger doctor stated.

House nodded. "That she is."

Wilson smiled. "Not as much fun when the brace is on the other leg, is it?"

"What are you babbling about, Jimmy?" House demanded.

"Well, it would seem that the Great Gregory House has finally met a doctor as mean as he is." Wilson flipped his paper to the next page and ducked the giant tennis ball hurtling towards his manicured hair without a beat.

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House ambled through the corridors and wondered what he could do with himself. He had managed to escape the ICU ward easily enough and he halted next to a window and gazed out at the rain.

Sigh.

When it was sunny, you could sunbathe, when it was windy; you could fly kites, when it was snowing; you could pelt people with snowballs but when it was raining…

He turned and looked down the corridor and saw a familiar figure in heels.

A slow smile spread across his features, when it was raining, the only thing you could do was drive Cuddy crazy.

He caught up with her easily, he may have a bum leg and she may sprint through the halls on those teetering heels but he did have the longer stride.

She stopped by the lobby desk and flipped through various patient's charts. He hopped onto the desk beside her and grinned down at her.

"Good morning, cuddles, are you feeling refreshed after your shower? You did leave in such a hurry this morning. I know you were mad at being late, but you looked so peaceful sleeping there that I could hardly bare to wake you."

Cuddy looked up at him but said nothing and continued her paper work.

He frowned, _that _should at least have garnered him a glare. He turned to the head nurse, Margaret, and changed tactics.

"You know, I figured her for a snorer but she'd really not. She does purr though, and wiggle towards you if she's cold." He stage whispered. He couldn't be sure but he thought he heard the grinding of perfect Cuddy teeth as she continued to write, refusing to look up at him.

Margaret looked at him and then at Cuddy. She shook her head and passed a comment that he didn't quite catch as she bustled away.

"You know, if you're really bored I suppose I could schedule a few clinic hours for you." Cuddy offered as she rubbed at a temple with one hand and then slapped the chart back into the rack with the other. She spun on one heel and stalked away.

Greg scrambled off of the desk and followed after her. He fell into step with her and she cast a look over him. "Nice threads, did Wilson pick them for you?" Her voice was tight as she powered into her office and sidled behind her desk.

"No, that awful physiotherapist did. She's mean to me." He mock whined as he settled opposite her and planted his feet on the desk.

"Oh really? The way I hear it, your making good progress and you've turned up to every one of your sessions. You're well on the way to recovery." He thought he heard her voice catch on some of that but he couldn't be sure.

"She slapped me and then threw me out of bed, before that, she made me do a session naked!" House protested.

Cuddy shrugged. "Sounds like small potatoes compared to some of the stunts you've pulled over the years. She stays." She did look like she was trying to stop herself from laughing though.

"This is not the level of support I've come to expect from an esteemed colleague such as yourself." House sniffed.

"Get used to it." Cuddy snapped as she booted up her laptop, she blinked rapidly and rubbed the side of her head again.

House frowned. "You all right?"

She looked over at him, as if surprised he was still there. "I'm fine." She said.

She blinked a few more times as she gazed at the screen and rolled her shoulders. "No you're not, have you taken anything for it?" He prodded.

Her fingers rattled over the keyboard as she answered absently. "Taken anything for what?"

"The migraine that you obviously have." House gritted, this wasn't like her to be deliberately obtuse, or worse, to lose thread of a conversation so easily.

"Hmm, no." She continued to type, effectively dismissing him. He tried again.

"You should, you know." He said.

Her hands slapped to the desk and she glared at him. "Should what? For God's sake, House, unlike some, I have to work and you're not helping." She thundered at him.

"Cuddy, what the hell is wrong with you? You sit there rubbing your head and I keep having to start the conversation over because you can't keep up. Since when did that happen?" He challenged her.

She stared at him for a moment but made no move to reply. Eventually she spoke. "I'm just tired, House, now go away so I can finish my work and go home." She turned back to her computer and ignored him. He sat stubbornly for a few moments before sighing and getting to his feet.

He left her office more determined than ever to get to the bottom of whatever was bothering her.

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House scrawled the rash symptom on the white board and turned to the team. "Okay, what else?"

"Patient complains of; fatigue, muscle cramps and…his bones feeling hot?" Cameron frowned as she looked at the chart and then over to Chase.

The Australian doctor shrugged. "That's what he said it felt like."

"Okay, I'll take anything at this point, 'bone-hotness'," House scrawled carefully. "Is that even a word?"

"Well, if it isn't you just invented it."

House reflexively jumped behind the white board and pretended to cower. "Back foul demon! You said you'd leave me alone for the rest of the day." He accused as Karen sauntered into the conference room.

"No." She shook her head slowly. "I said you didn't have to come to today's sessions, I didn't say I wouldn't visit you. How's the brace, not pulling or tugging anywhere?" Karen bent and ran her fingers over various buckles to make sure they weren't going to explode…or whatever it was she thought they might do if not carefully monitored.

"Nope, free and easy. All is well. Now go away."

Karen snorted as she jostled the brace. House winced as his side pulled. "I love you too, sweetie." She muttered as she continued to examine the brace and then abruptly rose to her feet. "Okay." She straightened. "Tomorrow, six am, be in the gym or I'll come and find you again." She warned before sweeping from the room.

Silence descended on the room as everyone watched her go and then turned to look at the scowling House. "So," he said, spinning back to the whiteboard, "bone-hotness…"

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House lay in his hospital bed that night and frowned at the ceiling. He couldn't get Cuddy's odd behavior out of his head. What was up with her, he had to know.

He tapped a rhythm against his belly with his hands as he thought. He liked to fidget as he tumbled scenarios through his mind.

It couldn't be her job, that had always been stressful, probably less so now that he was out of action for the short term. It had to be something personal.

Of course the real issue was, why did he care?

But he ignored it as he rolled to his other side and dropped into sleep and vivid dreams. Tomorrow would be soon enough to find out.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Well, thanks for all the reviews and stuff and to thingy that complained about House not having the cane, I'll either give him another prop to terrorize the masses with or I'll give him the cane back. I just haven't decided yet, 'kay?

Thanky muchly for all reviews from all other peeps and to the other thingy who was on about the World Series…I really don't care about the blue birds or whoever, I was making a point and they sounded like they were from America anyway, so there.

**Chapter 3 **

House hobbled into Cuddy's office, bright and early after breakfast and opened his mouth to deliver his opening argument. He stilled when she was nowhere to be seen. It was nearly ten, she should be in.

After seven was positively late for Cuddy, never mind nearly ten.

He pursed his lips and hobbled behind her desk to peruse for clues. He was dressed in his own clothes today. Karen had dumped them on his bed before his first session without comment. He wore faded jeans, a black and red Aerosmith tee shirt and a slate blue shirt. His trade mark sneakers and his handy dandy leg brace completed his rather fetching outfit as he snooped.

His eyes fell on a calendar on the desk and he saw a small black cross marked on today's date. He frowned.

_Day-off, CEM. _Was written in the small white box.

Since when did Cuddy ever have a day when she didn't come in at least once?

He spied the assistant outside, setting up for the day and hobbled out to harass some information out of her. "You!" he demanded. The young man jumped and looked around at him. A wary expression crossed the young buck's face and House's eyes narrowed, he didn't know if he approved of this guy, he might have to get rid of him. "Where's Cuddy?"

The man tilted his head to look down at his laptop and typed a few commands into the machine. He looked back up at House. "She's out for the day."

House gritted his teeth. "Obviously." He walked over to the younger man and towered over him. "Out where?"

The assistant swallowed nervously but held his ground. "I don't know. She's always off today, she called a cab and left, that's all I know."

House frowned down at the younger man. "Off on the same day every year?" The guy nodded. "Which cab company?" the assistant handed him a card with a cheerful logo on it and House took it and tucked in his pocket. He ambled away.

A short phone call later and he found out that CEM stood for Rose Chapel Cemetery. Now he had to get transportation, he knew that Wilson had moved the 'vette so his precious baby wouldn't get stolen in the basement car park, but that left him without a car.

Of course, if Wilson had taken his car, then it was only fair that he let House borrow his…

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House slammed the car door as he climbed out and bowed against the rain. He looked out over the small cemetery behind the small New England style church. The rain hammering the earth made it difficult to make anything out. A minister, stood under a large black umbrella, was greeting various members of his flock as they milled in through the mahogany doors to service.

House walked over to him, hunched against the rain and noticing even himself that his leg was stronger and his limp not as pronounced. The minister, a kind looking old man smiled up at him over half moon glasses. He was of a stocky build with a neatly trimmed silver beard, he looked over House and arched a bushy eyebrow, but not unkindly.

"Who are you looking for, young man?"

House blinked down at him. He wasn't exactly a babe in arms. "How do you know I'm not here for mass?" House shot back as water dripped down his face.

The minister smiled. "Because it's just a service, not mass and only regulars come here."

"You have to be new to become a regular." House argued as he scanned the various people for a familiar face.

"Uh-huh, are you after the young lady that visits every year on the same day?" The minister was unaffected by his manner, it must be a spiritual thing.

"As I understand it." House agreed.

The minister nodded slowly. "Good, it worries me that she comes alone, look after her. She's up on the hill." He ordered before disappearing in after the stragglers to service.

House stood for a moment just staring after the old man before he turned and pushed open the small wrought iron gate to the cemetery. It was actually much larger than it looked, stretching out behind the chapel and then right down to the bank of the river. House spotted Cuddy easily.

She stood silhouetted against the crest of the hill. Her long coat snapped around her in the whipping breeze. He walked slowly towards her, taking it easy up the winding gravel path to where she stood. If she heard him coming, she didn't turn and he stopped a few feet away from her.

She stood unprotected against the elements except for her thin coat and he could tell she was already soaked to the skin. This was the one time he had ever seen that she didn't care what she looked like.

She tilted her face up to the rain and let it splatter across her face, he could make out that her make up was ruined and her hair hung in a tangle down her back. She held a single white lily in her hand and it swayed in the battering of the weather.

She turned then and looked at him with completely desolate eyes. Raindrops ran down her face in dirty tracks of mascara that could have been tears. He watched as the rain washed her face clean of the soot and she just continued to look at him.

"Why are you here, House? You should be back at the hospital, you're still in recovery." There was no weight to her voice as she spoke, though, more like she was reciting something out of habit.

"I could say the same thing to you, you're soaked. You're going to get pneumonia."

Cuddy laughed coldly as she turned back to the grave she stood over. It was only a small black granite plaque, shining wetly up from the neatly trimmed lawn. She laid the lily down over it before turning to look at him with an almost cruel twist to her lips.

"And I suppose you would give a shit if I got ill?" She walked towards him slowly until she was barely inches from him and looked up into his face with the rain hammering around them. Thunder rumbled in the distance. She swallowed before continuing. "Would you treat me, Dr House, hmm? Would you crawl off of that damned pedestal where you've put yourself and actually deign to walk amongst mere mortals?" Her voice was a blade against him as she snorted and brushed past him. "No pun intended, of course." She lashed at him as she started down the hill.

He frowned, more surprised than offended at her words. Was she drunk? "I just wanted to know what was wrong." He called after her against the wind and the rain.

She stopped and then spun to face him. A glower matched the weather around them on her face as she prowled back towards him. "Why?"

He frowned back at her. "Why what?"

"Why do you want to know, House?" She shrugged. "Come on, inquiring minds want to know. Why are you here? I doubt it was anything to do with a patient, if I wasn't there you'd probably just forge my signature and do whatever the hell it is that you were planning anyway. Couldn't be anything to do with a donor or the hospital, you wouldn't give a rat's ass if the entire place burned to the ground and I _know_ it wasn't concern for my personal well being. So I repeat. Why the fuck did you come out here?" She had walked back towards him and she was now inches from his face.

He didn't think he'd ever heard her swear before. "Why can't it be concern for you, I've as much right to care about my fellow man as anyone else." He glared back on the defensive.

She laughed then, a cruel sound that was so unlike her it sent chills over him that had nothing to do with the awful weather that raged around them. "Yeah, House, you have every right, what you lack is the capacity." This time when she turned away she didn't stop again.

He caught up with her as she reached the church. She slammed the gate with a clang and he simply hopped over it with a flick of his long legs, unmindful of the pain it might cause him. He called her name but she didn't stop, he shouted again and she kept going. It was only when he stepped in front of her and grabbed a hold of her arms that she looked at him again. "Leave me alone." She ordered as she tried to twist away from him.

"No, I want to know what's wrong with you, why are you acting like this?" she turned her face away from him. "You've never done this before, I've pushed you every day I've known you, further than anyone else would have taken it and you've never lost it like this. What's going on?"

She looked up at him and fisted a hand in his shirt. "I'm grieving, House! That's what's wrong! I lost my best friend five years ago and it still hurts like it happened yesterday! And now I've got the world's most insensitive bastard here trying to get me to talk about it just so he can know everything about me! There! Are you happy now?" She thumped his chest as she screamed at him, tears streaming down her face. He just held her, knowing she had to let this out.

"You can leave content in the knowledge that you know everything about me that can't be discerned from snooping through my house or pawing through my garbage like some stinking rat." She let her head fall against the wall of his chest as her shoulders slumped in defeat.

He stared down at her, stunned at her venom. "Is that what you really think of me?" He asked quietly.

"Oh, please, like you actually care what I think." She stood stiffly, still held by him and slowly released her grip on his shirt.

He tilted her face so he could look into her eyes again. "I wanted to know because I was worried about you." He said and then turned away from her, holding onto her wrist and pulling her after him. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

She was so stunned that she didn't argue and went quietly behind him.

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The car slid to a halt outside Cuddy's massive home and they both sat in silence for a moment. They had driven along in silence and now Cuddy was calmer she was feeling guilty about her outburst.

"House, I… She trailed off. How do you apologize for assassinating our patient's…your friend's, character? "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

He turned to her and barely winced at the tug in his wounds. "Yeah you did, but it's all right, I suppose after twenty years you're allowed at least one screaming match with me."

Cuddy tilted her head. "We fight all the time."

House grinned. "I like to think of it more as foreplay."

Cuddy scowled and opened the door to get out of the car. The rain had stopped and now the smell of it filled the afternoon.

"Hey, you gonna feed me? You owe me breakfast, remember?" His voice stopped her as she was halfway out the car. She turned and bent down to look back in at him. "Or you could stay like that, the view's nice." He bobbed his eyebrows at her. She sighed.

"Come on in." She slapped the door shut and stalked up the path to her front door. She twisted the key and shoved it open. Standing aside she let House in and then frowned as she got her first good look at the car. "Does Wilson know you have his car?"

House shrugged and tossed his jacket over the back of the couch. "I would think that he'd have figured it out by now." He said negligently as he threw himself onto the couch and smiled up at her.

She stood watching him for a moment and then hung up her coat and went to the kitchen. She raided her cupboards looking for something suitable to feed a guest. Her kitchen was tiny, it didn't take long to know that she had nothing. She pulled a take out menu from under the bread bin instead and flipped through it.

She stopped in the doorway and waved the menu at him. "How about Italian? I haven't been to the store yet."

"Whatever's good for you." He answered as he flicked through the channels on the television, finally settling on one of the kid's cartoon networks. Bugs Bunny outwitted Elmer Fud easily again and again as House chuckled occasionally. Cuddy watched him for a moment, just allowing herself to let it sink in that he hadn't been killed and that he was recovering well. She heaved in a fortifying breath and then opened her eyes to see House barely a foot away from her.

She jumped as he snatched the menu from her limp fingers and tilted his head at her. "You sure you're okay?"

She nodded slowly. "Getting that way. What do you want?"

"Carbonara, spaghetti and meatballs and…garlic bread." He flipped the menu back to her and followed her into the kitchen as she made the call. He gestured to the empty fridge and raised an eyebrow. She placed an order for drinks as well.

"I'm going to get changed, can you amuse yourself that long?" She asked him.

He nodded with a lecherous grin. "I can visualize as well as the next guy."

Her answering smile was watery as she ascended the stairs to find some dry clothes to put on. The only thing she had was a worn pair of jeans and a deep green V neck. She still had to go to the dry cleaners as well. She added it to her mental to-do list as she went back down stairs.

The rain was back on, heavier than ever and lightening flashed bright against the windows. It was already getting dark outside as the weather turned foul and blared against her house. She watched the trees bend and twist in the wind and slap against the window as House continued to watch the television in the corner of her vision.

She was brought out of her reverie by the ringing of the doorbell. She walked to the door and opened it to find the bedraggled delivery boy standing holding their order and hunched against the wind and rain. Cuddy paid him quickly and relieved him of the bag of food.

She went on automatic pilot to the dining table and looked up when House's fingers linked around her wrist. She ignored the flare her body automatically gave whenever he was near as he tugged her towards the couch.

"I'm not some prissy donor you have to impress, we're going to be comfortable while we eat." He flopped onto the couch and tugged her down next to him. He took the bag from her and set about placing various boxes and cartons on the expensive coffee table. He rattled the plastic cutlery and handed her a set as he dug into his pasta and tore a piece of bread off for himself.

She just sat there, holding the cutlery and shivering occasionally and watching him eat. She was brought out of her trance when he drew the angora throw off the back of the couch and wrapped her in it, he pushed an open carton of steaming pasta into her numb fingers and stared at her until she forked some into her mouth and ate it.

Her stomach yowled in approval as she remembered she hadn't eaten in over a day and she ate mechanically staring blankly at the James Bond film that flickered across the television.

She didn't notice that his eyes never left her as she ate and the worry that wrinkled his brow.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Just another wee update for y'all, this is moving along nicely and I know that they're not exactly in character but all shall be explained when I get around to it, I wanted Cuddy a bit more vulnerable in this because you always see her as this scary feminist type in the office and I wanted to see the soft gooey centre under the hard shell, so there.

Review already!

I see all the hits, don't think I don't. I know you're out there!

**Chapter 4 **

Lisa drifted slowly awake as her body's internal clock informed her it was time to get up. She frowned and snuggled deeper into the duvet, she could allow herself a few more minutes before she got up. The mattress and bedclothes were warm around her and she sighed again contentedly.

Her eyes snapped open when the mattress moved under her and mumbled something sleepily. She jerked her head up and looked in growing horror at the relaxed features of Gregory House.

He looked down at her.

"Oh god." She murmured.

He shrugged. "You can call me Greg."

Cuddy threw off the blankets and rolled to the side of the bed, her stomach roiled and for a moment she thought she was going to violently ill with the implications of what had happened.

"You okay?" She felt his hand on her back as her head hung between her knees and she tried not to hyperventilate.

His hand on her clothed back. She looked down at herself and realized she was still wearing her jeans and V neck from yesterday. She turned to look back at House and saw that he was also fully dressed.

He laughed when he saw the calculations in her eyes. "Hey, you only had one glass of wine. We decided that it was too wild for me to drive back home last night remember?"

Cuddy turned away again and let her head drop into her hands. "And that we were both adults and could manage to sleep in a bed together." She frowned to herself. It must have been one hell of a glass of wine, her spare room was just down the hall.

"You actually thought we slept together?" She could hear the gleeful grin in his voice and cringed.

"I woke up in my bed with company, it doesn't happen often. I was surprised." She defended without turning to see him.

"Why is that?"

She whirled to him. "What?"

"Why are you always alone? You're attractive, you have a good job, a nice home and you're intelligent, there's no reason for you to be alone." He reasoned as he folded his arms behind his head and regarded her through narrowed eyes.

She half turned away from him but he could still see the flicker in her eyes before she turned and lied right to his face. "I'm alone because I'm married to my work and it suits me." She stood slowly and stretched.

He watched the movement with obvious enjoyment, thankful that the duvet covered just how obvious he could be. Either she hadn't noticed his arousal while she'd been draped over him or she had decided not to mention it.

He watched her disappear into the en suite and decided whether or not to be disappointed.

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Lisa stood under the torrent of steaming water in her massive shower stall and let her head rest against the slick tiled wall. She thought of House just a few steps away from her naked self and willed herself not to go out there and throw herself at him.

Why was she alone?

Huh, that was an easy one and it had nothing to do with work.

She thumped her head against the wall and let the spray needle against her back in a soothing heat. She shut her eyes and let the water pour over her as she thought about the day ahead with a certain measure of dread.

When had she started to hate her job?

She nearly leaped out of her skin when the door to the shower stall flipped open and House poked his head in.

"Hey, I went to the store for breakfast, you want any?"

Cuddy just stared at him. To his credit, his eyes didn't once drop below her chin.

"House!" She eventually said.

He raised his eyebrows a little playfully. "What? Do you want breakfast or not?" He kept his gaze so fixedly on her own that it bordered on the insulting.

"Naked here!" She gestured and immediately wished she hadn't. He took the invitation he knew she'd give and looked her over until she felt a blush crawl over her skin that was nothing to do with the hot water.

"Why, so you are Doctor Cuddy, I take it that's a 'yes' to eggs and pancakes?"

She glowered at him as he looked his fill. She refused to even attempt to cover herself; bit of a bolting the barn door after the horse is in the next county kind of affair she thought. "Eggs yes, pancakes no." She gritted as she shoved him backwards and yanked the door shut. She thumped her head against the wall and knew she would pay for this.

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House sat stirring his coffee, he had eventually wrestled the machine into submission, and watched the door to the kitchen. She should appear any minute now, all business like and ignoring the fact that he'd seen her naked.

He blinked at the, quite literally, steamy memory and blew out a breath. He'd always known that Cuddy was hot under those flashy power suits but he'd never guessed she'd be that hot! And that tattoo…

Cuddy interrupted his thoughts by stomping into the matchbox sized kitchen and snatching the coffee cup from his hand. He smiled at her glower and picked up the other filled mug next to him and began to drink that one instead.

"I thought you were making breakfast." She accused as she got her first hit of caffeine for the day.

"Uh hmm, in the oven to keep them warm." He bobbed his head in that direction as he noted her cheeks were still slightly flushed and she couldn't quite meet his eyes. She bent to the oven and opened it cautiously, she could practically feel the holes in her ass his eyes were burning. Two plates were in the heat of the oven, one with eggs and blueberry pancakes, she made a face and the other was eggs and toast.

She set aside her coffee and lifted the plates out with an oven mitt, she gestured towards the massive maple dining table and set the plates down on mats that he's already put out. He poured orange juice into the tumblers that he'd set out and sat opposite her. He flashed a smile before digging into his food.

Cuddy decided not to pass comment on how domestic the entire scene was and ate her eggs like a good girl. She folded the paper across the table and scanned the pages without really reading, when she next looked up, House had demolished all of his food and sat watching her.

Cuddy chewed and swallowed conscious of the way his eyes focused on her mouth. "Do I have egg on my face?" She finally asked.

His smile widened. "Not yet, cuddles."

She snorted and gave up any pretence of reading in order to flip straight to the funnies. She thought she heard him chuckle at that but when she glanced up he just sat there with a cat's-got-the-cream smile.

She left her breakfast half finished and gathered the plates to load them into the washer. She clicked through to the kitchen as she mentally reviewed the meetings she had to get through today. She turned and smacked nose to chest House. She let out a small yelp as she jumped backwards and he steadied her with one hand.

He looked at her with an accusing frown. "You're not eating properly, are you?" He trailed a finger over her shoulder and she resisted the urge to shiver.

"I've been busy lately." She answered automatically. It was exactly what she'd said to Wilson.

"Bullshit, you've lost far too much weight to just have forgotten the occasional meal. I know you, you might work through some lunches but you always make up for it later. Why haven't you been eating properly? Have you been starving yourself?" Okay, Wilson hadn't said that.

She blinked up at him. His presence was overwhelming and she swallowed before she fully realized just what he'd said. "What? No! I just…haven't been hungry…recently." She trailed off as he narrowed his eyes at her, deciding if she was lying or not. She held his stare and eventually he relented and took half a step away from her.

She released her death grip on the counter's edge and straightened herself as he watched her with those piercing eyes. "I need to go to work." She muttered as she pushed past him.

House watched her go and knew she was lying about something, not the starving herself, he knew that she wouldn't do that, she was too confidant for that kind of control issue, but there was something else.

He needed to know, he didn't want to think about why he had to know, he was content to just find out.

Wasn't he?

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House ambled into the lobby and tossed the keys to Wilson. "Brought your ride back." He grinned as Wilson scowled.

"You know the police think it's been stolen." Wilson complained as he fell into step with House.

"You didn't figure I'd taken it when you found your keys were missing?" House looked at Wilson like he was a particularly slow child.

"Well, no, for some reason I thought auto theft was beyond you. God knows why." He griped as House whistled. Wilson shot him a look. "You get another hooker or something?"

"My, aren't we in a mood?" House stepped into the lift and turned to bob his eyebrows at Wilson. "I juts saw Cuddy naked." He turned to the small man beside him in a wheelchair. "You know she's got this cute little tattoo right on her…"

Wilson missed where exactly the dean was supposed to have a tattoo as the doors hissed shut and ushered House away. The oncologist looked down at the keys in his hand and threw them up into the air to catch them again. He was going to have to call the cops again.

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House stalked into Cuddy's office and spread his arms. "Well, I'm here, bend over." He announced.

Cuddy looked at him over the top of the donor's head and then let her forehead drop into her palm. She resisted the urge to scream. It wasn't fair why did she have to get stuck with him?

She tried to remember if she'd ever been mean to small children or kicked a puppy when she was younger…nope. Not intentionally or that she was aware of at least. She looked up to see the puzzled Mrs Van Houlton stare at House.

The aged donor turned back. "This would be Gregory House then?"

Cuddy blinked and then recovered her composure. "Yes, he's on drugs at the moment."

"Really? Has he mellowed any?" Van Houlton asked.

House was standing with his hands on his hips and glaring at her. "Right here, by the way." He said.

Cuddy lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Not that any of us can tell."

"Good, good, I'll leave you to it then." Van Houlton rose from her chair and swept from the office before Cuddy could protest.

She turned to glare at House. "I hope you're happy now."

He leered at her. "Not as happy as I was earlier."

"_Why_ are you here? And _why_ are you asking me to bend over?" Cuddy demanded.

"Well, I thought it was polite to ask in civilized society, I thought it must be time for your shot by now." He looked at an imaginary watch. He'd changed since she last saw him, she mused, he must have went home before coming back here. "Or have you trusted someone else enough with the 'big secret' to harpoon you in your delectable derriere?"

He sidled closer to her but stopped at the expression on her face.

"Oh. That." She turned her attention to sorting through the papers on her desk and refused to meet his puzzled gaze.

"Yeah…_that_." He shifted his weight so it was evenly distributed between both legs. something Karen had ordered him to start doing. He was no longer allowed to favor his leg. "Your treatment shouldn't be finished yet, should it?"

"Well…it is now." She said dismissively as she continued to avoid his eyes and shuffle papers. He tilted his head and put his hands down over hers.

"Cuddy…explain."

She looked up and finally met his eyes, she forced a tight smile that looked quite painful. "I don't need you to give me shots anymore." She wrenched her hands out from under his and nearly sent him sprawling over her desk. He rescued himself just in time though.

"Why?" He drew the word out.

She sighed and then shut her eyes a moment before looking at him again. "When you were…shot the treatments were disrupted and now I'd have to start all over again if I want to continue." She seemed to find the words hard but he just waited patiently until she was apparently finished.

"Disrupted how? I'm sure someone else would have done it. I know you didn't want Wilson to know, but I'm sure Cameron would have done it." The expression on Cuddy's face let him know exactly what she thought of that idea.

"Why didn't you get someone else to do the injections, Cuddy? You're not too proud to ask for help."

She abruptly rose to her feet and turned away from him to stare out the window. She fidgeted for a moment before she folded her arms and hugged herself.

"Why, Lisa?" He repeated as he touched her shoulder lightly. She flinched away from him but he turned her slowly anyway. Her eyes shone as she faced him. She smiled another strained smile.

"Well, I was a little distracted at the time."

"You forgot about months of IVF treatment because I was shot?" He said slightly disbelievingly.

She nodded briefly. "Yup, I only noticed when the lack of hormones made themselves known." She stood as far away from him as the windowsill would allow and tightened her arms about herself.

"Oh…I'm sorry." House said uneasily, somehow it didn't feel adequate. "Are you going to start over?"

Cuddy pressed her lips together and shook her head. "There's nothing for you to apologize for. It's not your fault." She said in a rush as she blinked rapidly.

It sure as hell felt like it. He remembered that day when she'd come to his office and what she'd nearly offered him, he still wondered what he'd have said if she'd had the courage to ask. His eyes met hers again and he knew she was thinking about the same thing.

He tilted his head. "I'm gonna go now, but I'll be back."

She nodded again and he tried to ignore how relieved she looked at his statement. He walked from her office his mind whirling over time with the insane idea that had just popped into his head.

It couldn't work…could it?


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm afraid y'all won't be finding out what's up with Cuddy for another couple of chapters but enjoy this bitty coz it's important. Luvvin y'all for the reviews specially you guys that crossed from my other fanfic and keep it up they make me smile. **

**Read and review or else!**

**Chapter 5 **

Karen braced her patient's leg with her hands as he lunged gently forward to stretch his remaining muscles in the limb. The brace lay abandoned a few feet away during the session. She guided him through the motion and looked up at him.

He was throwing a ball between his hands and staring off into space, he still gave the exercises all the attention they required, which wasn't much, but his mind was clearly on other things. One of the few men that could multitask, what a novel concept.

He looked down at her when she didn't urge him to move onto the next set of movements.

"What's wrong?"

Karen arched a brow. "You're asking me? I've been kneeling here for about three minutes and you haven't made one inappropriate comment or gesture. I was beginning to wonder if you'd slipped into a coma."

"You're an easy mark, I'm waiting for you to do something new."

Karen shrugged and continued to move him into new and interesting poses. "Of course."

They were silent for a few more moments as House batted the idea back and forth in his skull like the ball between his hands.

"Have you noticed anything different about Cuddy?" He asked suddenly. She was new to the hospital, or at least he thought so, but she might have noticed something. He'd done some snooping, she had a degree in psychology as well.

Karen focused on his leg as he stretched it behind himself and gripped his foot with one hand while leaning on her shoulder with the other. "Different how?" She finally asked, resigned to being a sounding board. People always came to her with their problems. God knew why, she never gave a rat's ass, but her mother had always said she'd had one of those trustworthy faces.

A genetic fluke apparently.

"Well, I know she's lost weight and she seems more distracted than usual. She seems…sad more than anything else." House kept bouncing the ball on his palm, he was more talking to himself than Karen but the kneeling Scot didn't care.

"She was at a cemetery yesterday, did somebody close to her die?" Karen asked, attempting to shove him in the right direction.

"How do you know that?" House asked as he balanced on his injured leg without the brace. Karen was spotting him, not properly hovering him, but prepared to get out of his way if he took a nosedive for the mat.

She shrugged. "You missed my session, I did some investigating."

"Do you know where I spent last night?" He asked, more than a little curious about her methods of information gathering.

Her hazel eyes flashed to his blue. "None of my business so long as you don't tear a ligament." Karen murmured. "But you were at Cuddy's."

House gaped and nearly fell over. "Damn, you're good."

Karen smirked. "The best."

"Speaking of 'best'; Cuddy said that her best friend died, Peter something. Happened five years ago, do you think she'd still be grieving that hard for that long?"

Karen motioned with a finger for him to walk up and down the length of the mat. He obeyed as she considered his question. She didn't usually do more than murmur incoherent things when people talked at her, but she'd taken an interest in Oreo and Cuddy as well, something was going on there.

"Well…Peter was obviously very important to her if she visits him on the anniversary of his death every year…keep your back straight and stop watching your feet." Karen snapped abruptly and House made the corrections as he pivoted and walked back to her. She motioned again, watching his gait and making sure there were no bad habits she'd have to beat out of him.

"I suppose it's possible that she still feels that same level of grief for him, but it's true what they say, time heals all wounds. I think it's much more likely that she'd reacting to a more recent event - if your going to have your toes pointing anywhere, out is best – and using Peter's death as an excuse to process that emotion."

House stilled and turned to look at Karen hard. His mouth tightened but he didn't say anything for a few moments. "What kind of recent event?"

Karen watched him carefully and then reached down to pick up the pad and pen that she carried with her everywhere and move to the door. She looked at him sideways as she was about to leave and narrowed her eyes.

"Now, that's really not for me to say…or to find out." She slipped through the door and disappeared down the corridor.

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Cuddy shoved open the door to the exam room and frowned. "You're not Wilson." She said as she glared at House.

"Your powers of observation are astounding. No, I needed to talk to you and you've been avoiding me but I knew you couldn't ignore the almighty trill of the beeper." House waved his own at her as he smiled. He was sucking a lolly-pop and grinning like a fool.

Cuddy sighed and resigned herself to talking to him sooner or later. She shut the door behind herself and rested her weight against it. She looked at him expectantly as he wound himself up for whatever he was about to say.

"I had a thought." He opened.

"Really? Did it hurt?" Cuddy pinched the bridge of her nose. If he didn't get to the point soon she was going to have to cancel her lunch reservations.

"Nope, still pain free, thanks for asking. Anyway, I was thinking about your donor problem."

Cuddy's hand gripped the back of her neck as the migraine began to throb down the sides of her face and tighten her jaw. "I told you, I don't have a donor problem." Her eyes widened as he hopped off of the bed and moved towards her.

"Oh, but you do." He gripped her shoulders and steered her towards the bed. Before she could protest he gripped her waist and lifted her easily onto the padded surface. He pushed her skirt up and stepped between her knees so his chest filled her vision.

"House, what are you…?" She was silenced by a long musician's finger over her lips.

"Hush, I'm talking here." He speared his fingers through her hair and began to massage her scalp and then down to the muscles of her neck. Cuddy groaned as relief flooded her and her eyes fluttered closed. "Now, where was I?"

"I told you, it's not a problem as I'm not doing the treatment anymore. Ah! Lower." She murmured as his thumb circled against the muscle where her neck joined her shoulder.

"Yeah, well, I was thinking about it anyway." He circled his fingers lower and watched the way she pushed herself towards his hands with a small smile. Tension migraine, not surprising considering how high maintenance her job was. "I'll be your donor if you like."

Cuddy stiffened under his hands and her eyes snapped open. She blinked rapidly before finally managing to speak. "Say again." She demanded a little breathlessly as he continued to massage her scalp and back. She was just going to melt into a puddle on the floor.

"I said I'll be your donor." He shrugged like it was no big deal, though his insides had suddenly tightened, had he misread her when she'd come to his office?

"Are you high?" She blurted and pulled away from him. He released her but refused to move from between her knees. "Has the Ketamine been giving you trouble and you think this is a hallucination? Is withdrawal from Vicodin sending you off the deep end or are you just trying to screw with me?" She snapped as her migraine returned tenfold and nearly knocked her unconscious. She swayed slightly and then abruptly got a hold of herself before he could reach for her.

He smiled tightly. "Now that you mention it…we both want me to be the donor the only thing that's giving us trouble is the delivery system." He grinned at her shocked expression and raised his eyebrows expectantly.

Cuddy blinked again and tried to sort out what the hell was going on. "You did not just seriously suggest what I think you just suggested."

"That depends on what you think I just suggested." House countered, he would have a better chance if she was on the defensive, she couldn't overanalyze if she was trying to put him off.

Cuddy floundered a moment as she gestured between them. "That I…that you…what is it exactly that your suggesting?" She flipped the tables on him.

He smiled. "I'm suggesting that I father your children."

Cuddy could only gape at him as he continued to smile. He _had_ to be joking, just another way to mess with her head.

"I'm not joking, Lisa, offer's on the table. I'll leave you to think about it but I'll come back." He winked at her and then ambled out of the exam room leaving her there to gape after him.

Maybe she was hallucinating.

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It was a few hours before he did. Come back, that was. She'd learned a long time ago that when Greg House said he was going to do something, he damn well went and did it.

Her only problem was he'd now said he was going to father her children, not child, children…oh fuck.

She was staring mindlessly at her computer, she was supposed to be looking over the spreadsheets for accounting and she'd read the first column in about sixteen different ways before he clattered through the doors arguing with Adam, her assistant.

"It's a free country, I can go wherever I want. Besides she wants me." He jerked his head at Cuddy as Adam fluttered around House like a moth at an unkempt praying mantis. He was about to get squished. Cuddy could see under the playful manner House was dangerously close to just batting the younger man away.

"It's fine, Adam, and you can go now. it's getting late." Cuddy said as she gratefully turned her attention from the spreadsheet to watch as Adam left the office and House slouched onto a chair opposite her.

He laced his fingers together and smiled expectantly. "Well?"

She played dumb. "Well what?"

"I'm back. What's your decision?"

She looked at him as she shuffle papers nervously and then finally spoke. "You know we can't." She filed various things in probably the wrong place as she rushed the words out.

House shrugged, apparently not making the correlation. "Why not?"

Cuddy stared at him. She hadn't expected to have to give him reasons. Mind you, she hadn't exactly expected him to make this kind of…offer in the first place.

"We work together." She blurted the first thing that came to mind.

"Not at the moment, I'm on leave." One point to him, he didn't smile though, she'd get pissed if he did that.

"I'm your superior." She tried again.

"I don't have a problem with that, I'm macho enough, do you have a problem being on top?" He shot back. House;2 Cuddy;0.

Her cheeks flamed as she moved on. "The board would never accept--"

"What the board doesn't know, won't harm them. What are you going to say? 'I'm screwing Dr House does anybody have any questions, comments?' I didn't think so." He let himself smile just slightly. She was going to accept, she just didn't know it yet.

3 – 0

"You can't keep a secret." She said with finality.

"I kept the IVF treatment a secret." He countered. Damn, he was good.

Cuddy blinked, she was rapidly running out of arguments. "The first opportunity you get you'll use this against me to have your way."

"Oh, I plan on having my way, but I'm perfectly capable of keeping work and play separate. I've managed to get my own way for eight years without sleeping with you. I can carry on doing just that."

What was it now…5 – 0?

He had her there. Cuddy frowned. "People will talk." Her voice sounded weak even to her own ears.

"People already think we're going at it like rabid weasels. I, for one, would like to enjoy a few of the benefits." His eyes raked her and she suddenly felt very exposed behind her standard power suit and massive mahogany desk.

She got up nervously and paced over to the window she looked out a moment as he watched her every move in that way of his. She turned suddenly. "Why?"

He could pretend he didn't know what the question was but she'd just get more irritated. She was losing and she hated it when she lost.

"I feel free to do this now." She shifted her weight as she waited for him to elaborate. He wondered if she had any idea that the light from the window made her skirt practically transparent. He blinked before continuing. "For the first time in a long time, I'm strong enough to come off the vicodin and the morphine I was pushing on myself trying to get away from the pain, withdrawal's a bitch but it's so much better with a clearer head."

She moved towards him, probably unconsciously, and settled against the desk near to where his feet were propped. It was true, he had dark circles under his eyes and they were bloodshot, his voice was rough and he must have felt like hell, but he was smiling through it.

For the first time in a long time, Greg House looked happy.

Cuddy bit her lip against what the knowledge did to her.

"I want off the vicodin, I have a pain free leg now so I can do it. I was shot and it scared the hell out me. Not only do I care if I die now, but I care if I live. I want to live and this is one way of doing it. I don't know if I'll be a good dad, but I want to have kids with someone who would be a good mom." He shrugged. "Besides, I said I'd help you with the injections and this is just a natural extension of that." He grinned at her as she watched him.

She wasn't sure she would buy the last part but the rest of it…yeah, she could understand the rest of it.

Damn, she was out of arguments. Except one…

She looked at him. "We don't even know if we'd be compatible that way."

He threw back his head and laughed as he stood up to stand in front of her. She refused to back away, besides, that would involve scrambling backwards over her desk, and she didn't think her heels were up to that.

"Oh please, we verbally copulate every day. However, if you think you need proof…" he let his sentence trail away as his mouth swooped down over hers. Cuddy made a small sound of surprise as his lips pressured her and their tongues slid together.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and arched her backwards over it as his

entire presence engulfed her. His tongue played with hers as he nipped her lips and stroked her back.

She _should _be pushing him away. She _should_ slap him across the face and threaten to sue for harassment. She _should_ be doing anything but kissing him back and enjoying it as he draped her across the desk.

She should be…but she just didn't want to.

Fire blazed along their bodies as she groaned into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Abruptly he pulled away and reality crashed back into Cuddy like freight train. Her eyes went wide.

"Did I hurt you?" She panted, still not quite recovered from him.

He looked at her and chuckled. "Does this feel like hurt?" He tugged her hips against his and she gasped at the length of him. "No, you didn't hurt me, but this isn't the place or the time. You still need to think and I'm going to leave you now to do just that." He spoke between nipping kisses that had her on the verge of control, her brain was a few minutes behind whatever he was saying and she didn't fully realize until he pulled away from her.

"Ball's in your court." He stroked her waist one more time before turning and leaving.

Cuddy sagged against the desk as her mind reeled over what had just happened. Had it really just happened?

Yes it had and now she had to decide what to do about it.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Yup, yup, kiddies, the chapter you've all been waiting for. Read here to find out what exactly is up with Cuddy, a few of y'all have probably guessed already but for those of you who didn't pick up on the subtleties…here it is.

So without further ado, I give to you; chapter six!

Read and review, I need to know who didn't see it coming. 

**Chapter 6**

_Cuddy entered the lobby of Princeton –Plainsboro teaching hospital with her coat over her arm and a smile on her face as she greeted various staff members. Her smile took on a frozen slant as she noticed the chaos in one of the triage rooms. _

_Margaret ran up to her and put her hand on the deans arm. "Dr Cuddy, it's Dr House..." _

_Cuddy sighed, though she kept her eye on the triage room and the doctors milling around it. Here eyes widened as the doctors suddenly parted to reveal the patient on the bed and Margaret finished her sentence. _

"_He's been shot."_

_Cuddy turned to stare at Margaret for a moment and then whipped her head around to look at the unconscious blood spattered from of Dr Gregory House. _

_The sounds of PPTH seemed to fade away as Cuddy felt her bag and jacket fall to the floor. _

"_No…" Her voice was hoarse as she was already moving across the floor her heels seeming like gunshots against the floor as she shoved an intern out of the way and looked down at House, her eyes stricken. _

_Her head bolted up to Cameron, standing frantically shell shocked and trying to staunch the blood flow from Greg's neck. "What happened?" Cuddy demanded. _

_Cameron looked on the verge of tears and it was Foreman that answered. "Some guy barged into the office and shot him, he held us off for about fifteen minutes before security took care of him. _

"_The shooter?" Cuddy asked as her hands moved over Greg. He couldn't die. He would not die from this._

"_He's in Trauma 2, condition critical. Chase is with him." Foreman couldn't be sure but he could have sworn he heard a muttered 'good' from the dean as she examined House. _

_Cuddy's head snapped up her eyes crackling blue fire. "Which OR?" She demanded as she scanned behind foreman and the useless Cameron who seemed to be sinking to greater depths of hysteria with each passing second._

_Her eyes widened and she didn't hear Foreman's answer as a dark figure surged between Foreman and Cameron, gun raised, Cuddy blinked and jolted as the gun flashed and kicked in the gunman's hand. _

_She tried to lunge forward and stop him, the stranger with the gun, but Cameron was suddenly holding her back yelling at her as Cuddy desperately scrambled to save Greg even as his body jolted with each bullet. _

_Cuddy watched in horror as the heart monitor screamed an alarm and finally blared a flatline. Cuddy screamed in denial even as the faceless gunman turned to her and leveled the gun at her. _

"_Straight to the heart, Dr Cuddy." A voice echoed from the figure right before the gun kicked again. _

_Cuddy staggered backwards and fell into another gurney even as she looked down to see blood pouring from her chest. A crater blasted into her ribs through which she could see the last stuttering beats of her fractured heart. _

_She was dying. _

_With one last effort, Cuddy lunged at the gunman, a scream on her lips. _

"NO!" Cuddy bolted upright in bed, tears streaming down her face and her chest heaving as her heart hammered inside of it.

Her stomach heaved as she raced for the bathroom. She retched until there was nothing else for her to expel from her body and then slumped to the floor next to the toilet.

"He's not dead, he's not dead, he's not dead…" She murmured the litany to herself and forced herself to believe it. She curled her feet under herself and realized that she'd fallen asleep fully clothed.

Again.

Tears refused to stop falling as she pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes in an attempt to make them cease. He wondered idly if the nightmares would ever stop.

She couldn't stand this, to see him die again and again, even if it was just in her head. She loved him too much.

Lisa Cuddy, self sufficient, strong, dean of PPTH and completely, hopelessly and irrevocably in love with her head of diagnostics.

She had been since she'd first seen him on the lacrosse pitch nearly twenty years ago, she berated herself for it everyday and it didn't make a single bit of difference.

Lisa dragged herself up to look at herself in the mirror and winced at the sight she made she smoothed her hair back from its tangle and released it from the clip she'd left it in. she glanced at the clock, just after four, she wasn't going to sleep again tonight she might as well get ready for work.

She mused over Greg's proposition as she undressed and climbed with a stiff muscled wince into the shower. She let the hot water batter her as she stood under the spray, hoping it would wash away the bad dreams as much as cold sweat from her nightmare.

She let her head fall back against the slick tiled wall wondered what the hell she could do about Greg.

True, getting involved with him would probably be worse for her in the long run, she didn't know if she could survive a purely physical relationship with him, knowing that he was just using her for a brood mare, as equally as she was using him as a stud.

On the other hand, could she pass up the chance to be with him, whichever way she could, no matter what the cost?

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Cuddy entered House's office quietly and sat in one of the chairs as she watched him instruct the team at the whiteboard. He looked up and smiled slightly when he saw her, not with his mouth but with his eyes.

No one else noticed the exchange and Cuddy settled back to wait for him to finish whatever it was he was doing.

She enjoyed just watching him unobserved for a few minutes as he taught his young doctors. Though he didn't need it, he still held the cane in his hand, spinning it absently. She supposed it was out of habit more than anything else. He needed to do something with his hands as he thought and he was most comfortable with his cane.

She would only object if he took of his leg brace and started whirling that about.

He nodded shortly and said something that sent the ducklings scurrying to do his bidding. Cuddy watched him as he set the cane on the glass top table and walked through to the office to see her.

She watched his unfettered gait and smiled, how long had she wanted to see him walk again. He would always have the limp, and if the trial with the brace didn't work out he would still need the cane for extra support but for the moment he was doing it himself.

"Hey." He said by way of greeting and took a seat, not at his desk, but at the chair opposite her so when he sprawled there their legs almost touched.

"Hey." She answered as she folded her legs nervously, was she really about to do this?

She looked him over as he sat there, he seemed to be coping with the withdrawal quite well. The dark circles under his eyes had faded somewhat and they looked less bloodshot than the other day, he seemed to be gaining weight as well.

Always a good thing when he was as skinny as a rail.

"I take it, by this special little visit that you've made a decision." He mused as he sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees, the same way he'd dreamed of her doing.

"I have." She swallowed and couldn't seem to say anymore.

"Okay." He waited, this was her show. She had to come to him.

She fidgeted with the hem of her skirt and then finally met his eyes. "If we do this…then there have to be rules and you have to follow them. For both of our sakes."

His eyes narrowed but he didn't pull away as she expected him to. "Okay. I can understand that."

She blinked, the last thing she had expected from him was understanding. She rubbed her hands over her skirt and then stilled when she saw his eyes following the motion. "We can't let this get mixed up with work."

"No nookie at work. Got it." He smiled teasingly as he nodded.

She ignored that and continued. "If we're together then it's exclusive, you want to get together with someone else then you tell me and we can break it off." It nearly killed her to say it but she needed that much from him and if he said it then she knew he wouldn't go back on his word.

His eyes darkened as he smiled slightly. "I have no intention of sharing you. Deal." He stated emphatically. He looked at her a moment before speaking. "My turn; I'm not going to wait until all hours until you finally drag yourself away from here, if we have a date then I expect you to turn up unless it's a life and death emergency. And that means your life or death, not some pissed off donor or a patient."

Cuddy blinked at him and tilted her head before nodding. "Done."

He looked slightly surprised before speaking again. "Anything else?" He splayed his hands in question.

"Yes. I need to know…what is this going to be? Is it just so I can get pregnant or…do you want to be involved in everything?"

He looked at her for a long time before answering. "I want to be involved, I have to admit I'm not sure to what extent yet, but I do want to be a part of any child's life that comes between us."

She nodded slowly. She could live with that.

"Tonight?" He asked.

Her eyes widened. One part of her screamed it was too soon but another shrugged and said it was going to happen anyway. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Be at my place for eight then." He ordered and she nodded again, not trusting herself to speak before practically running from the room.

Her mind reeled as she clicked along the hallway and into the elevator. A small part of her felt she'd just made some kind of Faustian deal but a greater part, somewhere in the region of her heart, knew it was going to hurt but she had learned a long time ago to take what she could get when it came to Gregory House.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

House stood against the countertop of the kitchen and fed another piece of dog biscuit to Steve McQueen. For some reason his rodent roommate loved the damn things. He looked at the clock and fought the nerves in his stomach.

7:54pm.

He was going to go insane.

He looked through at the dinner settings on his mahogany coffee table and smirked. He was pretty willing to bet that she wasn't going to be expecting dinner.

He'd missed out on candles and it wasn't exactly the antique family heirloom china but it was clean and pretty enough he thought. He'd bought the finest take-out that money could buy from the deli down the street. He had background music playing but nothing too patronizing. He wanted her comfortable, not ready to fall asleep.

Though he supposed anything that would get her into the bedroom might be an improvement.

7:56pm.

Oh, for fuck's sake.

House walked over to the piano and sat heavily on the stool. His knuckles cracked as he arched his fingers over the keys and brought them down with a thunder of deep notes. He lost himself in the music that harmonized with the stereo while still managing to keep half an ear open for the door.

At exactly eight pm there came a soft knock on his door as a slow smile spread across his face. He rose from the piano and moved to usher the evening into his apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

**WARNING! Smut in this chapter, I suppose you could skip it but it's probably going to become a regular thing so if you don't like it, you sure as hell are reading the wrong author's stuff.**

A/N: Smutty coz I can and because I think House would use his piano this way if given the chance.

Read and review, I'm eager to here from you.

**Chapter 7**

House opened the door to her and smiled at the look of barely restrained terror on her features. She smiled tremulously at him and shifted under his gaze as he held the door wide and gestured for her to enter.

"Come in, dinner's ready."

She blinked as he spoke and brushed past him into the apartment. He unashamedly inhaled her soft scent and smiled. He found it interesting that a woman of her obvious means wouldn't bathe in expensive perfumes but instead chose more natural scents like strawberries and…vanilla.

He liked it.

She froze when she saw the settings on the coffee table and turned to look at him. It was impossible for him to read her expression and he took her coat and spirited it away from her before she could bolt like the frightened rabbit she currently resembled.

"Sit." He ordered and winced when she jumped at the sound of his voice. He continued in a gentler tone. "Would you like some wine?"

"Uh, sure, white?"

"I have some chilling." He removed the bottle from the cooler and watched her as she settled herself onto the couch. He had been nervous before, but now that he saw skittish she was, he felt mellowed somewhat.

He poured her wine and she drank deeply and then smiled another watery smile at him. He sat next to her and ignored her stiffening at his proximity. He uncovered the first dish.

"Baby baked potatoes stuffed with crème fresh and herbs with…" He uncovered another dish with a flourish. "Butter baked salmon with a squeeze of lemon and…" He uncovered the final dish. "Steamed asparagus and baby carrots." He smiled at her shocked expression. "Contrary to popular belief, I do actually enjoy good food and know where to get it."

She laughed slightly and he could almost see the tension seep from her. "So, under that cold hard shell is a cultured dapper gentleman just screaming to be let loose?"

House smiled at her, eager to have her unclench. "He can be sedated with large doss of _General Hospital_." He spooned a generous portion of everything onto her pate. "Hungry?"

She smiled in a chagrinned manner before admitting; "Starved."

"No argument here." He quickly moved on at the almost stricken expression on her face. So the weight loss was a sensitive subject.

He drew her into conversation about mundane things; an anecdote about something one of the med students had done, Wilson's trouble with the police officer who threatened to have him brought up on charges of wasting police time but relented when he consented to take her out to dinner…anything but the matter at hand.

When all the food had been cleared from their plates House watched as she relaxed despite herself. She slipped her feet from her shoes and draped one arm over the back of the couch as she curled her body toward him. She held her wine glass easily in one hand and spun it between two fingers to make the golden liquid whirl inside it like a storm.

They still jabbed at each other with verbal barbs, it was just part of their relationship dynamic, but there was a different layer to it now. An undercurrent of affection to their words.

A frown snapped between his brows as he noticed her rubbing the back of her neck in a now familiar motion.

"Migraine?" he asked, setting aside his half drunk glass of wine. She was on her third when he was still nursing his first. Wine had never gibed well with him and anything that relaxed her was fantastic in his book.

She nodded with a slightly pained expression.

She was more stressed about things than he'd realized and he gave his next instruction without thinking. "Come here." He opened his hands to her as she stared at him for a moment. He bobbed his eyebrows. "I have magic hands."

"You know, I think part of it is because you screw your hair on too tight." House muttered as he unclasped the ebony strands and let them tumble down her back. She was letting it grow longer again he mused as he stroked it out of the way and then probed against her scalp with his fingers.

She made a non-committal sound at his comment that turned to a groan of relief as he massaged her scalp. She rolled her shoulders and sighed in pleasure as he stroked through her hair and down to her nape.

"Where did you learn to do this?" She said to him in a husky tone.

"My mother used to get tension headaches all the time. I was the only one she'd trust not to make it worse. Brace yourself, this is going to hurt." He hated to do it, but if he didn't she would just be in more pain later.

His finger's searched out the nerve cluster with a practiced ease. As she made a drowsy questioning noise he pressed down with his fingers. Her gasp of pain went straight through him as her hand clamped unconsciously down on his knee. He twisted his fingers against the pressure point as her nails dug into his leg and he released her.

She bent forward and gasped as he continued the massage. "Feel better?" He turned her so he could see her face. Guilt lashed him as he saw the glimmer of unshed tears in her eyes which she quickly blinked away as a sigh gushed from her lips.

"Much better." As she spoke her breathe was warm against his lips and he realized how close they were. Without a further thought, he lowered his mouth over hers.

He could feel her slight surprise that turned to acceptance and then scintillating cooperation as her tongue slid over his and her teeth nipped his lips. He slid backwards onto the couch and pulled her on top of his chest. Her fingers plucked at his shirtfront as she moaned into his mouth.

He wound his hands between them and began to flick the pearl buttons of her shirt apart to reveal her curving figure underneath. His thumb stroked a spiked nipple as she groaned and arched towards him.

She moved to wrap her leg over his and froze when she came into contact with the brace. She pulled away from him, much to his annoyance, and stared down at it.

She shut her eyes and pressed her lips together before standing and re-buttoning her shirt. She turned away from him and stalked away she came to a halt next to the piano and rested her hands on its slick surface.

He moved to stand behind her, so close that she could feel the warmth of his body on her back. She didn't turn as she spoke.

"We can't. It was insane to think that we could."

His eyes narrowed as he considered the rigid form of her spine. "Why?" He was aware that he should accept her answer, move on like it was no big deal, make some stupid quip that would release her from explanation.

But he needed a real reason.

Her shoulders tightened again and she turned slowly to face him.

"We work together and I'm your superior."

"We've been over this." He was angry now. "How much longer can you use the hospital and the board as an excuse not to live?"

She fell back shocked at his words. He could hardly believe he'd said them himself. "It's not that simple." She argued. "We can't ignore who we are and we can't ignore our responsibilities."

"Can we ignore this?" He closed the distance between them and crushed her to him as his mouth descended on hers.

Gone, was the tenderness of a few moments before. It had been replaced by the heat of anger and the chemistry that flared between them readily at the slightest provocation. They were almost violent as they crashed together and dueled with their bodies instead of words.

Her hand slapped against his shoulder as his lips angled fiercely over hers and he fully expected her to push him away and give him a ringing slap across the face. Her hand fisted in the fabric of his shirt instead as she used the handle to pull him closer.

He pushed forward and pinned her against the curve of the piano. There was a deep thrumming note form the belly of the instrument as their impact sent a shudder through it. They didn't notice as he lifted her onto the piano and pushed her knees apart to step between them.

His fingers speared through her hair and enjoyed the silky sensation of the soft strands shimmering through his hands. He broke the kiss with a sharp indrawn breath and then moved down her throat with nips and licks designed to have her teetering on the edge.

The faintest glimmer of reality intruded on his passion fogged brain and he remembered that he had her bent backwards over his piano. "Lisa, if you want me to stop, you have to tell me now."

If she asked it, he would stop and never speak of this again but that didn't stop him from praying that she wouldn't.

She blinked rapidly, her bright blue eyes having darkened to a storm of violet in her haze of desire. He instantly decided that purple was his new favourite colour. He was going to decorate the office in that stormy hue.

She looked down at herself and realised exactly how he was pressed against her.

Her eyes met his and a shaky smile took her swollen lips. "If you stop now, rules or not, I'm going to fire you."

A wicked look crossed his features as his lips met hers again. She groaned into his mouth as her leg hooked over his hip and he ground himself against her. His hand wrapped around her knee and then slid over her thigh to push under her skirt.

The seem split under the pressure as pearl buttons lining one side popped away with a satisfying _ping!_

Somewhere Donna Karan was screaming.

Her hands went to work on his belt buckle with alarming proficiency as it came apart in her skilled fingers. He nearly choked as she pushed inside his pants and wrapped her fingers around him. She twisted and puled in a motion that nearly had him finishing before he started.

"Oh, no, I'm not done with you yet." He manacled her wrists in one hand and held them against the polished wood above her head as his free hand puled open her shirt again and his hot mouth desended over a turgid nipple.

She cried out and arched, helpless under his long hard frame as he overwhelmed her with sensation. He turned his mouth to her other breast as she moaned breathlessly and returned his attentions to her skirt.

It was hiked ruthlessly over her legs and bunched around her hips. He used his teeth to scrape the silky fabric of her bra out of the way so he could taste her skin. When her breathe hitched at the contact with his teeth, he did again and had her arching higher and nearly out of his hold.

His grin froze as his hand travelled over her hip and found nothing between his fingers and her silken core. He shut his eyes briefly as his brain fired rapid calculations.

"Lisa, why aren't you wearing underwear?" He husked at her, neglecting her breast momentarily in favour of finding out the answer.

She moaned at the loss of sensation and then frowned at him. "What?" Her passion fried brain wasn't up to making these kinds of connections.

He stroked her in order to draw her attention to the area in question and her eyes shuttered in rapture as she bit her lip. "I don't like…thongs!" She gasped as he continued his movements, enjoying seeing her lose control. "And VPL is unacceptable." She grated as she exploded around him in her first shattering climax.

He wanted to laugh at that but he suddenly had a whole lot more interesting things to be doing as her foot pushed his jeans down over his hips.

"Greg, now!"

He smiled down at her as he pushed her across the piano top and climbed up on top of it after her so they both were draped across it. It was a solid construction and he just hoped it held up under them because she was exactly where he wanted her.

"You are in no position to be giving orders." He teased as he kissed her and then nipped her throat.

"Please!" She writhed under him. "I need you inside me." She gasped as he dragged his unshaven chin across her soft skin. She'd have to wear a polo neck tomorrow. "Now!" she gasped in desperation as he pushed her almost unbearably higher.

"Oh, all right then." He smirked as he used his still free hand to position her hips exactly to his liking. Their eyes met and held as he pushed inside her slowly. He watched fascinated as she stretched to accommodate his length. Her chest heaved as he savored the sensations of being inside her.

She was his now.

He released her hands and she pulled him down to kiss her. She bit him and then soothed it with her tongue as she wrapped her legs high over his hips and spurred him as her heels dug into his lower back.

Smiling at the action, he obeyed her by rocking over and inside her. She moaned into his mouth, a deep throaty sound as one hand anchored in his hair and the other slipped under his shirt and inside his tee shirt to scrape her nails over his hot skin.

The piano rumbled under them in a musical note-less noise.

He pushed her higher and enjoyed the sensation of her coming apart around him. He knew he wouldn't last long as he increased their rhythm. He obeyed every one of her breathless commands.

Harder, faster, _deeper_, don't _ever_ stop!

All the while the music of the abused piano accompanied them and he couldn't help but grin at the slightly discordant sounds they made together.

She released his hair long enough to pull his shirt and tee over his head in one fluid move. Her hands stroked over his chest and desire speared him as her tongue laved his chest and she scraped her teeth over him in an echo of his earlier action.

Suddenly, everything was too much and he crushed her mouth under his once more as he sent them both over the edge into a shattering mutual climax. He swallowed her delirious scream as she shuddered and contracted around him.

He buried his face in her hair as he panted, coming down from his high.

He'd never had anything like that before. Jesus, if he'd known he'd have given up Vicodin years ago. He smiled and laid a soft kiss on her throat as he rolled to the side and draped her across his chest.

The piano finally purred into silence as his lover's panting breath warmed his chest. There were going to be some very interesting marks on the lid for the maid when she turned up.

"No."

He frowned and then looked down at the half asleep Lisa nestled into his arm. "What?"

She smiled against his chest. "I don't think we can ignore this."

He let his head fall back against the wood with a clunk and a short wince. "Is that all?"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"NO!"

Lisa sprang forward, the denial sharp on her lips as she lunged into a pair of strong arms. She panted, a cold sweat slick on her body as she stared about wildly, unsure of where she was.

"Shh, it's all right, it wasn't real." Greg held her close as she trembled violently in his arms. His warmth and presence comforted her as the after effects of the nightmare haunted her like dispersing mist.

She shut her eyes only to snap them open again as the shadowed form of the gunman loomed through the darkness of her lids. Her arms were tight around her lover and she shuddered as if freezing.

She choked on a sob and buried her face in the corner of his neck.

He simply held her and stroked her back as she recovered from the ordeal of seeing him die again. It wasn't always the same. Sometimes the gunman didn't show up again but they didn't get to the OR in time. Or the bullet was a few millimeters to the wrong side and he bled out from a hole in his carotid artery.

Her knowledge of what could have gone wrong never ceased to supply her imagination with wholly new and horrific ways for him to die.

"Do you want to talk about it?" His voice rumbled through his chest wall at her.

"No." She shook her head and glanced at the clock. "I have to go anyway. I need to get ready for work." She pulled away from him without meeting his eyes.

He was silent and she could tell he didn't want her to go but she needed to. She needed to go home where she was free to fall apart and pull herself back together again.

She slithered off the bed and gathered her various items of scattered clothing pulling them on in record time.

She saw him pulling on his jeans.

"You don't have to get up."

"I know." He finished pulling on his pants and stood to walk her out if she really insisted on leaving. She shifted her weight, deciding on whether or not to argue and decided not to bother.

Good, he would have ignored her anyway.

He helped her into her coat at the door and rested his hands on her shoulders until she looked up at him. "Drive carefully." He ordered.

She nodded him and then turned to leave. She caught him by surprise when she whirled and threw her arms around his neck. Their lips met in a maelstrom of things unsaid before she broke away abruptly and disappeared out the door.

He watched from the door, uncaring of the dawn cold on his bare chest, as she slipped into the Lexus and it roared to life. She smiled a forced smile at him as she drove away and his mind whirled over the nightmare he had witnessed.

What he had heard her say had obviously only been half of what had been in the nightmare but a few of the words had interesting connections to real life. He shut the door and ambled back towards his bed.

He could think about it in the morning.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hot off the press for you kiddies! I haven't updated the last few days because I had no idea what to write. I actually wrote three more chapters, hated them and then deleted them only to re-write this chapter another three times before settling on this version. **

**Oy, I'm tired. **

**Read and review coz I need to get the creative juices flowing. **

**Chapter 8 – Something Wicked This Way Comes**

Cuddy shoved open the door to exam room two and heaved a mental sigh when she saw House sat in front of a young patient. The dark skinned boy sat twirling one of his hair braids between his long fingers and looking over behind the door Cuddy had just walked through.

The boy's golden eyes flickered over her in a blatant appraisal as House acknowledged her arrival.

"Here she is now." He smirked at her as he spoke.

The boy whipped around and gaped at House. "That's your girl? Score, man, she's hot!" He slapped his open palm to House's in a manly high five.

Cuddy gaped and then jumped as a woman poked her head around the door. She looked over Cuddy with flashing yellow eyes and tossed her caramel coloured hair over one shoulder as she turned to scold the boy on the examination bench.

"Alex, I know you appreciate older women, but she can only be a few years younger than me."

Alex turned from congratulating House on God only knew what and looked over to the woman. "Mom, just coz she's older does not mean she can't be hot. Dad thinks you're hot."

"Daddy, signed a prenup saying he has to tell me that at least once a week, now apologize for being vulgar to…Dr Cuddy." Mom instructed.

Alex turned and looked put –upon as he did as he was told. "I'm sorry for being," he snorted, "vulgar, Dr Cuddy, but I meant it as a compliment."

Cuddy looked between the boy, his mother, who looked vaguely familiar, and the ever grinning House swinging back and forth on his stool. "Apology and compliment accepted." Cuddy said quickly even as her eyes promised retribution of biblical proportions when she got hold of him. His smile just widened.

"Hey, mom, Dr Cuddy's wearing your stuff." Alex pointed and everybody looked at Cuddy's outfit. What was this? Stare at Cuddy day?

Cuddy was dressed in varying shades of grey and white today. She wore a turtle neck of dove white with ovals of silvery grey over the waist to emphasize hour glass shape of her figure. A swirling skirt of pale grey with a gauze overskirt, like she'd wrapped her legs in mist, ruffled around her knees and over the knee high pointed boots of a stone grey.

The woman stepped completely out from behind the door to reveal a stunning tailored suit of forest green and a slender model's build. She smiled as she gestured to the dark grey ribbons that trailed from one side of the skirt. "And correctly too, not many women click that the ribbons aren't supposed to hang down the front."

Cuddy blinked. "Lillith Green?"

Lillith nodded. "I'm afraid so, this is my son Alex, who is in his twelve step program for addiction to older women." She smiled with obvious affection as she spoke of her son and gestured for him to join her. "Now, honey, let's go and get x-rayed while Dr Cuddy slaps Dr House across the head for saying something he shouldn't." Lillith rested a manicured hand over Alex's shoulder as he ambled from the room, cradling one arm at his side.

They disappeared out of the door and shut it behind them.

Cuddy whirled on House. "What did you say, exactly?"

House shrugged as he sucked on a candy. "We were talking about girlfriends." He frowned. "What are you complaining about? I was nice to them." He defended.

Cuddy was silent a moment as she gaped at him. "You told a patient I was your 'girl'?" She asked dangerously.

"No. That would be insulting and wrong." House looked offended at the mere notion. Cuddy relaxed marginally. "I told them you were my _woman_. World of difference." He sucked the candy pop back into his mouth and Cuddy tried to ignore the way his tongue swirled around the bright red sucker.

She was beginning to feel like a bright red sucker herself and it had nothing to do with House's tongue…though she might mind a bit less if it did.

"So…woman, when are we meeting next?" House stood and Cuddy realised how close she had moved to him, not uncommon when they argued, but it took on a whole different level of meaning after the events of last night.

He reached out a long finger and trailed it over her turtle neck. "I knew you'd have to wear one today. Either that or risk the comments about the massive hickey I gave you." He grinned gleefully at the thought and she resisted the strong urge to slap him.

"How do you know I want to meet again? I could have decided that last night was a mistake." She shot back, not wanting to give in too easily.

He tilted his head and stared into her eyes as she felt the heat rise in her like pressurized steam. She licked her lips nervously and his gaze dropped to her mouth.

"Hmm, I might have believed that if your eyes hadn't changed."

His finger was now running over the pearls at her throat and Cuddy swallowed as his nearness sent all the wrong signals to all the wrong places.

"Changed?" Her voice was far too breathless for a Dean of Medicine.

"Oh yeah, when you get aroused your eyes change colour. No one ever told you that?" He was so close now she could feel the heat of his breath against her lips. "It's not quite purple but more of a deep stormy indigo. Far too passionate to be a simple blue. It would be wrong to ignore that, wouldn't it?" he husked against her lips in an almost kiss that was nearly painful.

Cuddy blinked rapidly as a few of her brain cells were still functioning. Even as she angled her head to receive his kiss she protested weakly. "We agreed; not at work."

He went perfectly still and then pulled back a fraction. "That we did." He murmured. He straightened and then slipped the sucker back into his mouth. He grinned as a sudden thought occurred to him. "Try not to look so disappointed, you'll be the first to break our rules and then…then the real fun begins." He winked at her as he pushed out of the door to go to his next physiotherapy session.

Cuddy was left standing alone in the exam room, her cheeks hectic with a flush of arousal and her body screaming at her to go after him and drag him to the nearest secluded spot.

She straightened herself, though she didn't need it and then swooped out of the room in a snap of lab coat her face a study in determination.

No way in hell was she going to break their rules first.

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House watched with a mixture of fascination and horror fluttering across his face as Karen stretched.

He stumbled along on the treadmill and winced as she executed a particularly inhuman motion on the blue mat in front of him. She whipped herself out of the position and then lunged backward into a crab. His mouth fell open in a grimace of sympathy pain as she shuffled her hands and feet closer together until the heels of her hands touched her actual heels.

"Oh, will you stop? I think I'm going to hurl." House put a hand to his mouth as if to illustrate his urgency.

Karen shot an irritated glance at him and then rolled into a more relaxed, human looking, shape. "Better?" She asked sardonically.

He grinned, satisfied that he'd gotten her to do something. "Yeah, better."

Karen rolled to a sitting position from her lounging recline ad folded herself into the full lotus. House frowned at the uncomfortable position but said nothing, maybe she wouldn't do anything worse.

"So, what did you do last night?" Her voice was curious but not pushy. She probably knew anyway.

"I had dinner with Cuddy." He announced.

Here eyes snapped open and she frowned at him. Okay, maybe she hadn't known.

"Really? She voluntarily entered your home and ate with you?" Karen smirked. "Well, miracles never cease, hmm?" She smirked.

House frowned. "I don't believe in miracles."

"No, you just rely on them." She rolled her head on her shoulders as she continued the conversation. "So, how was it? Did you mange to be polite to another living thing for the duration or did it degenerate into your usual snark fest?"

A small smile kicked at House's lips. "Well, we did fight, but it's okay because we kissed and made up."

Karen hummed as if absently listening and continued her head lolling exercises. She froze mid-roll and her eyes snapped to his flashing green. "Oh. My. Gawd!"

She leaped to her feet, in a move that he was pretty sure was physically impossible for a normal human being, and pointed at him.

"You screwed Cuddy!" It was not a question. House just looked at her and her mouth fell open. "Wow. Wilson owes me money." Karen muttered as she stared at him.

House's brow snapped into a frown. "You can't tell anyone." He ordered fiercely.

Karen's eyebrows rose. "A tad protective are we?" She rubbed her hands together gleefully. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen."

His glare intensified.

"Okay, fine, I won't breathe a word." She said holding up her hands in a truce gesture. A frown marred her young features as a sudden thought occurred to her. "How long has this been going on? She doesn't seem the easy type."

House shrugged, not really wanting to share too much. He wanted Cuddy to himself for a while. "She's not."

Karen nodded her understanding. "Fine. Did you find out what was bothering her? And maybe feed her?"

House nodded. "She's having nightmares. She won't talk about them."

Karen shrugged. "Some people just don't want to, though it probably goes easier if they do." She ambled over to adjust the machine he was on.

"You think?"

"I know." Karen frowned as the machine blipped at her and then shut down. House jumped off of it and walked with the her to the doors, eager to get to his freedom.

His smile froze when Karen opened the door to the gym and House saw the woman on the other side, her hand half raised to knock.

"Hey, Greg." She said by way of greeting.

"Hey, Stacy." House said back.

What the hell was she doing here?


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hah! Written all in a oner (is that a word? I think so)! I felt I needed to have the Stacy issue resolved and I personally believe he wouldn't have sent her away unless he was already getting over her, so there we are.**

**I've just written the plot synopsis for the later chapters and you guys are gonna hate me but I think it'll make for a good story so…mwaha! **

**Plenty to do between now and then, okay I'll give y'all a clue; it begins with S and rhymes with nuttiness…any suggestions?**

**Plenty of that to come your way in the next chapter and the ones to follow. If y'all don't like that then I suggest you stop reading now, though I am giving some thought to putting it into chapters that you can skip and still understand the story if you don't like that kind of thing. **

**I might not be benevolent enough though…read and review, I've rambled enough. **

**Chapter 9**

Karen, who had still been looking at House, frowned slightly before swiveling to see who he was talking to. Her eyes widened as she leaped backwards behind the taller doctor.

"Yack! What is it?" Karen peered from under House's arm as she hid behind him. She scowled at the shocked looking Stacy and then straightened abruptly. "Oh, it's just a person."

House arched a brow at her in silent question.

"I have a chronic fear of vultures, she frightened me." Karen turned to Stacy with a wide completely insincere smile on her face. "Nice to meet you. I'm off now. Play nice." She directed at House as she sidled past Stacy like she was radioactive and then disappeared down the hallway.

Stacy watched her go and then turned back to House. "Is she always like that or is there something wrong with her?"

"I don't think so, but if there is then I bet it's hard to pronounce." He tried to smile in a relaxed way as her eyes traveled over him. "Why are you here, Stacy?" He finally asked.

"You were shot."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, about three weeks ago. Well, actually it's more like two and a bit." He shrugged. "So difficult to tell when you're recovering from a Ketamine coma."

She nodded quietly for a moment and then gestured to his empty hand. "No cane?"

"Nope, I have this handy-dandy leg brace instead. Not quite as impressive as the cane but y'know beggars and choosers."

"You look good."

He frowned slightly as he leant against the doorframe. "Uh-huh. You should have seen me a week ago, withdrawal is not pretty."

He watched as surprise rocked her frame. "You're off the Vicodin?"

He nodded. "And the morphine and everything else. Funny, I don't feel the need after my leg doesn't feel like it's trying to chew itself off."

She was silent for a moment, just watching him and then she readjusted her jacket as it hung over her folded arms.

He finally took pity on her. "Do you want to go to lunch?"

She brightened as her head came up. "You're not busy?"

"You just drove for two and a half hours to get here, I'm sure I can fit you in." he pushed himself away from the doorframe and then ambled down the corridor with her. She walked quietly at his side. He didn't offer his arm and she didn't try to take it.

So…why was she really here?

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**_Half an Hour Earlier_**

Cuddy strode into her office and scowled at the papers in her hand. She had a meeting with the board in about three minutes, she was running late and the episode with House had just scrambled her brain.

She was not having a good day.

Cuddy stilled as her eyes caught on a splash of colour on her desk. She felt a small frown tug her features as she reached down and picked up the single red rose.

She smiled as she inhaled its sweet scent and tapped the nearly opening bud against her lips as she tossed aside her folder and picked up the small square envelope underneath the rose.

She opened it and pulled out the small card nestled within. More rose petals fluttered onto the desk and she frowned. This wasn't like him at all.

_Lisa,_

_I'm inviting myself over to yours tonight. I'll bring the wine and the music if you sort the dinner, Italian is great if that's all you want. _

_Hope you like the rose._

_Seven pm, don't be late._

_Greg._

She felt a smile pull over her frown as she continued to hold the rose. She didn't hear the door open as she ran a finger over the familiar hand writing.

"Secret admirer?"

Cuddy went completely still as she recognized the voice. She looked up slowly with a certain measure of dread and pasted a smile on her face.

"Hello, Stacy." She was glad that her voice didn't crack as she spoke. "What are you doing in New Jersey?" Cuddy sat hurriedly and pushed the letter into her desk drawer along with the loose petals and locked it. She couldn't bear to put the rose away though, and left it hooked inside her folder, ready for the meeting.

"I heard what happened to Greg, I came to see if he's all right."

Cuddy nodded and pressed her lips together. "Of course." She continued to sort her things, preparing for the meeting and barely looked up at the slender woman. "Have you been to see him yet?" She forced the question out past the lump in her throat even as she wanted to scream in frustration.

"No, not yet, I hear he's doing well." Stacy took the seat opposite her even as Cuddy wanted to physically throw her from the office.

Who had told her, Cuddy wondered, it certainly hadn't been her. She had no desire to see Greg hurt by this woman again.

_Cameron. _

"Yes, she called to tell me. I was actually surprised that you didn't." Stacy said.

Cuddy hadn't realised she'd spoken aloud and quickly racked her brain for an excuse. "Yeah, well I had a lot going on and you weren't exactly at the forefront of my mind." Cuddy knew that her tone was too harsh and that she was acting like a jealous lover but, quite frankly, she didn't care.

She _was_ a jealous lover and Stacy Werner had just moved up a few places on her shit list.

"If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting." Cuddy surged to her feet and Stacy followed her movement.

"Sure, maybe we can catch up another time."

"Maybe." Cuddy burrowed her face into the folder, still holding the rose tightly in one hand, and stormed from the office.

The stunned expression on Stacy's face and the way hospital employees leaped out of her way made her feel only marginally better.

Well, at least she'd had one night with him before she'd lost him.

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House sat opposite Stacy in the small café and ordered quickly. He relaxed back into his seat and watched her as she made her own choice and then sat forward in her seat, her neck cupped in one hand.

"What have you done to Cuddy?"

House stilled. "What?" Cuddy wouldn't have said anything to Stacy and how would she know?

"I walked into her office and she was holding this rose and then she got all…angry and stormed out."

"Angry?" His letter had pissed her off? He frowned, he couldn't see why. He thought she'd like the romantic stuff.

"Well, more upset than angry, I suppose, her mood only really changed when I mentioned you."

House sat for a moment and then smirked. She was jealous. Stacy was back in town and she thought he was just going to throw her over in favour of the lawyer. Jealous was good, jealous he could work with.

"Cuddy being pissed off puts you in a good mood?" Stacy asked as their drinks were brought to them.

He straightened and pasted on his Dr House face. "Of course, I _live_ for that kind of entertainment." He regarded her for a moment, content in the knowledge that Lisa was involved enough to be jealous, and then asked what he really wanted to know.

"Why are you here, Stacy?"

She blinked and then intentionally misunderstood him. "You were shot, I came to see if you were okay."

He shook his head. "No, you could have done that at any point in the last three weeks. Hell, you could have shown up when I was in a coma, I wouldn't have even known you were there. You wanted to talk to me about something. What is it?"

She was still for a long time and then her eyes dropped. She ran a hand through her hair before she next spoke. "I think my marriage is falling apart. Mark is still moody and…I think he's going to leave."

"The guy can barely walk, he's not going anywhere. You, on the other hand, are here. So what does that tell you?"

Her eyes met his and she opened her mouth.

"Don't even think about it." The words were out of his mouth before he even realised he was going to say them. She froze in shock. "I'm not going to do the emotional punch bag thing with you whenever you think Markey-boy might be doing something you can't control. You love him, he loves you, go back to him and sort it out. Stop coming to tell me when you should be talking to him." His tone was gentle but there was a note of finality in his voice as he said the words he'd waited a long time to say.

Her mouth fell open. "How dare you…!"

"How dare you?" He shot back. "I'm involved with someone else and you just waltz in here like my life's been on hold since you left. Did that ever even occur to you?"

Her open mouth was all the answer he required.

"I didn't think so. Lunch is on me." He rose abruptly, suddenly not wanting to even look at her anymore, and tossed a few bills down on the table. He strode out of the café and ignored her shouting him back.

He'd finally let go and he hadn't even realised it until today.

He looked up at the sun shining through the clouds and smiled a really big, Greg-before-the-infarction smile and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets as he made his way back to the hospital.

He suddenly felt very free.

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"So…lunch went well."

House looked up from his carefully balancing a pen on his nose and nodded to Wilson as the oncologist took a seat opposite him.

"As well as can be expected." He answered at Wilson's incredulous look.

"You made her cry in a crowded restaurant."

"Okay, one; she deserved it, two; it was a café and three; I left before she started crying so…that's not applicable to me." House switched to balancing his pen on the end of one tapered finger.

"You really feel nothing on this?" Wilson sounded as skeptical as he looked.

"No…that would be cruel. I feel bad that she thinks her marriage is failing but I also feel annoyed with her. I'm not just here for her to pick up with whenever the other guy in her life isn't doing what she expects." House didn't look at Wilson as he spoke but the younger doctor watched his friend carefully.

"You've really let go, haven't you?" Wilson smiled. Glad for his friend.

"Yeah, I have. Now…who called her in the first place?" He narrowed his eyes at Wilson in an accusing manner.

"Hey don't look at me, I think it was Cameron." Wilson held up his hands in an innocent gesture.

"Aah, the naïve immunologist strikes again…I think I'll cut off her pay check."

"But then who'd answer your mail?" Wilson pointed out.

House snapped his fingers as he curled an imaginary moustache. "Curses! Foiled again."

Wilson was quiet a moment. "Stacy said you said you were involved with someone."

House shrugged it off easily. "She said, he said, everybody lies."

"No…I don't think so. Who is she? Do I know her?"

House looked over at Wilson and sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you but you have to promise to keep it to yourself, coz it's a big secret." House warned in an exaggerated manner.

Wilson nodded and held up his hand. "Scout's honour."

House stared at him for a moment before speaking in a rush. "It's Cuddy. She and I are having a massive love affair behind everyone's backs."

Wilson blinked before sighing. "If you don't want to tell me just say so."

"Like that's ever stopped you before?" House scoffed as he rocked back on his chair.

"True." Wilson got to his feet. "I'm going home, speaking of…why are you still here? It's nearly seven."

House bobbed his eyebrows. "Midnight delight with Cuddy. She's desperate for it and I have to work extra hard because I don't have the cane anymore." House pouted.

Wilson sighed and shook his head as he walked away. If House didn't want to give him a straight answer then he wasn't going to get one.

House sat in silence as Wilson disappeared from the hospital. He grinned and got to his feet.

It wasn't quite midnight but he supposed they could start now and carry on right through…


	10. Chapter 10

**WARNING! Smuttiness as promised. I suppose you could actually skim along to the next chapter and pick up again there but you might miss a few teeny details if you do that. Your choice, I'm not going to force you to read my stuff if you don't wanna. **

A/N: I suppose this one is fairly warm and fuzzy compared to other chapters, along with being hot and steamy but…meh. Read and review or else…something scary, I'll get back to you on that.

**Chapter 10**

Cuddy rubbed her forehead as she peered down at the notations on the spread sheet in front of her. Her office was shadowed but for the pool of light on her desk from the small lamp there and the ambient glow from the screen of her laptop.

She scribbled over some of the notations with her own words and refused to cry.

She'd lost him to Stacy, again and she'd had enough. She'd cried enough. Had enough pain to last several lifetimes from banging her head against the emotional brick wall of Greg House.

Her eyes strayed to the job offer in Michigan and then she shook her head and blinked rapidly.

She had a head ache and she was _not_ going to cry for him again.

The door opened slowly and she looked up to see a familiar figure step through the blinds. She had shut them and ordered Adam not to let anyone in. She might as well have hung a big sign that said 'FUCK OFF!' outside the door.

No one had bothered her for the entire day and now she was quite content to work herself into the ground so that she might exhaust herself into sleep.

She looked up at him. "Oh, it's you." She returned to her spreadsheet and wiled away the burn behind her eyes.

"You got my note?" He asked.

"Yes. How did lunch with Stacy go?" She just managed to get the words out without choking herself on them. This was it. He was going to tell her that he wanted to be with Stacy.

He shrugged as he stood by the coat rack and regarded her thoughtfully. She was really upset. Others wouldn't have noticed it, but he did. "Better for me than her, I think."

"Hmm." She didn't look up as she pretended to work.

"She thought Mark was going to leave her. I told her to go back to him." He had her jacket in his hands as he spoke.

Her head shot up and she stared at him.

He chuckled softly. "You thought that I came back here to tell you that the whole thing was off didn't you?" He stood behind her and held out the jacket. "That's the only reason I can think of for you breaking the rules."

She sat for a moment and then shut down her laptop and cleared away the files. It could all wait. "No," she lied, "I just needed to work late." She stood with her back to him and pushed back her arms to shrug on her jacket.

She jolted when his hands manacled over her arms and he tugged her back against him. She saw her jacket flop over the chair and swallowed as the heat of his body permeated her clothes.

"So…you were the first to break our rules."

She licked her lips as heat lashed her body and he wrapped his arms around her his voice husking in her ear.

"Seems like." She said breathlessly.

"Well…if you break the rules, you gotta be punished."

Lisa had a moment to digest that before he tilted her back over his arm and claimed her mouth in a searing kiss. She was helpless under him as his mouth dominated hers and his hands held her wrists behind her back.

Abruptly, he released her mouth and pushed her forward against the desk. Files scattered as he ran his hands over her arms and then pushed her palms against the writing mat with his longer fingers splayed over hers.

"And the best punishment I can think of for you…is to have one of _your_ rules broken." His baritone husked into her ear as his teeth closed over the soft shell and tugged. She moaned as the entire length of his hard body pressed her against the desk and pinned her there.

She had a sneaking suspicion of which rule it was that he was about to break.

"_Don't_ move your hands." He ordered as he released them and skimmed his fingers down her sides. She whimpered as he caught the material of her skirt in on hand and moved it so he could stroke his hands over her legs.

"Shh, we wouldn't want anyone to come in, now would we?" He breathed against her hair as one hand swept over her molten core and had her biting her lip while the other pushed under her white turtle neck and closed over her breast.

Her eyes few open as the thought hadn't even occurred to her. A part of her, a large part of her, thought about pushing him away and insisting they go elsewhere…but another part, a smaller slinkier part of her urged her on. How many times was she going to be taken on her desk anyway?

Her train of thought derailed as his fingers slid over her and pushed her higher. She just knew she was going to explode into little tiny fragments the next time he did that. She murmured something to that effect that had him chuckling.

So he did it again.

Lisa muffled her cry of pleasure as she exploded by savaging her lip between white teeth and moaning.

She panted and gasped as her head hung down over her desk. The rasp of his zipper filled the room and her eyes fluttered closed as she felt her body quicken once more at the sound.

This was ridiculous, she just had to _hear_ him undressing and she was on the edge.

"Now, are you going to disobey the rules again?" He asked her and she couldn't help but smile at his polite tone while he hitched her skirt up.

"If this is the punishment?" She gasped as he gripped her hips.

"Uh-huh." He poised over her, waiting for her answer to determine his next actions.

"Oh, hell yes." She groaned and he smiled wickedly as he wrenched her hips backwards and surged into her.

The moaned together as his teeth caught on her shoulder. Her back arched and she groaned throatily as he pulled them into a scintillating rhythm. His hands roamed under her sweater again as he lowered her to the desk so she rested on her elbows, writhing under him.

Suddenly it wasn't enough. He couldn't see the effect he was having on her.

She moaned as he pulled away from her and then smiled saucily as turned her and then lifted her onto the desk facing him.

He stood in shadow and only the barest hints of light highlighted his stark features. She shivered at the dark edge he represented and forgot to care as his mouth crushed down over hers again.

He pushed her legs apart and lifted them so they wrapped around his hips. He lunged into her again and had her gasping. He spread her across the polished clutter of her desk and they sent ornaments, files and photographs sprawling to the floor in their fervor.

His fingers tunneled through her hair and sent the delicate pins flying as she moaned into his mouth and scored his jacket with her nails. The desk shuddered as he moved over her and she gasped as he bent his head to suck a spiked nipple through the silky fabric of her top.

He shouted suddenly as he went over the edge and swallowed her scream with his mouth as she followed him into paradise.

He stood slowly and then straightened his clothing before smiling down at the sight she made.

Dean of Medicine, sprawled across her desk, one knee bent to rest her booted foot on her chair with her skirt hiked up around her thighs and her chest heaving under her rumpled sweater.

It was a good look for her.

He took her hands and tugged her to a sitting position where she could sag against him and recover. He stroked her back and smirked at what he had done.

His smile turned to a scowl as his beeper trilled from his belt. He grunted in annoyance and reached around his lover to glare at the offending box.

He sighed and she grumbled somethin against his chest.

"What?" He tilted her so he could see her indigo eyes.

"If it's a patient then you should go." She murmured sleepily, even as she lent against him.

"Oh, I see, so you've had your wicked way with me and can't be bothered with the post coital chat?"

She smirked with her eyes still shuttered. "Something like that."

"You're just going to swan off home now, then?"

"Huh, I don't think I can even manage a stagger after that…maybe a hobble." She cracked open one still passion hazed eye up at him. "At a stretch."

He smirked down at her and then pulled her gently from the desk. She swayed slightly and then caught herself. "You all right?" He asked.

"Are you kidding? I want to be this 'all right' every day." She smirked in a slightly dazed manner and realised that he'd probably just screwed her brains completely…among other things.

This time when he held out her jacket she was allowed to step into it completely. He wrapped her in it tightly and then propelled her towards the door, making sure she bypassed any files on her way out.

She needed more sleep not more work. He told her so as he reached around her to unlock the door and push it open.

"Oh, it was locked."

He turned to gape at her. "You didn't hear me lock it?"

She shook her head as she adjusted her handbag. "Nope."

"And you just let me have my way with you anyway?"

She nodded slowly. "Though I would appreciate you keeping your voice down now that the door is open again." She kissed his cheek and then stepped through the blinds to sashay off to her car. "See you tomorrow." She called over her shoulder with a cheerful wave.

He stared after her and realised that he didn't know her at all.


	11. Chapter 11

**WARNING! Okay, so more of the smuttiness but I've arranged it so that you can skip that half of the chapter coz the rest of it's pretty important to the plot, I think. If you're squeamish about shower scenes I suggest you look away when House heads for the en suite, cool? Do not pass go, do not flame the author who gave herself a headache tweaking this chapter for your fussy selves and go straight to the next chapter. **

**Thankee-muchly. **

A/N: Hey, hey I'm back! Not that I actually went anywhere…but you know. Anyways I can devote muchas tempus to this fic coz I've just finished my 'A Prank Too Far' one (sniff I'm quite sad about that actually). So I will possibly maybe be updating more often with this one depending on how friendly the plot bunnies be.

Hoooo-boy! Revelations in this chapter!

Read, enjoy, review. That's an order!

**Chapter 11**

House's bike purred as he steered it into Cuddy's driveway and killed the engine. He looked briefly up at the dark window of her bedroom and then slung his leg over the bike and ambled up the steps to the front door.

After a brief search, he located the key above the door in a hollow in the frame. He slipped it quietly into the lock and stepped inside the house.

Silvery light streamed through the windows and illuminated snatches of the rooms like a fractured picture. He ignored everything and headed silently for the stairs. He made his way up them easily with the aid of his leg brace and unerringly to her bedroom.

He pushed the door open with a slight creak and poked his head around it to look to the massive bed that dominated the room. She was curled over it like a sleeping cat. The duvet was at her waist and he wondered if she always slept naked or if she'd done it just in case he'd turned up.

He watched the way her chest rose and fell in peaceful sleep and smiled at the silvery blush of moonlight on her skin. She looked so much younger asleep, like she had as a student in Michigan, more relaxed without the weight of an entire hospital stressing her out.

He sat on the edge of the bed and she turned towards him as the mattress dipped. Her hand flopped across the space between them and he reached out to brush his fingers over hers.

Her hand splayed under his and then pushed towards the contact. She was so responsive to him, even in her sleep. He stroked a stray curl of midnight hair from her face and considered the composition of her features.

He wouldn't have said she was classically beautiful. More striking, her profile was strong enough to be Greek or Nordic, she was too buxom to be labeled as thin, which suited him just fine and her mouth…her generous mouth that some would say was too wide was fitted just perfectly to his.

His eyes became reverent as he swept a thumb over the gentle pout of her lower lip.

He considered waking her and decided against it, she needed all the sleep she could get.

He pulled his jacket from his shoulders and toed of his shoes as he prepared to join her in that comfortable looking bed. He turned his attention fully to her as she moaned quietly. He watched as a frown etched itself between her brows and her head twisted away from him.

"No…" She murmured quietly and twisted again.

He hurried to sit beside her as he realised she was going to have another nightmare. She moaned again and shifted as he was about to wake her. Abruptly she fell still and silent again and he thought she might have managed to avoid terror for this night.

"GET AWAY!"

He jumped in surprise as she screamed and lunged upward. She barreled into his chest and sent him sprawling over the foot of the bed. He grunted as her fist impacted with his chest.

"Don't hurt him again! Not again, please…" She sobbed as he grabbed her wrists to stop her from hitting him.

"Lisa, it's me, it's Greg. Stop it, it's all right." He wrapped his arms around her and held her against the wall of his chest to cease her struggles. She eventually stilled and looked up at him with oddly blank eyes.

"Greg?" Her voice was strange too. He nodded slowly.

"Oh, you're all right, he didn't hurt you again." She ran her hands over him as Greg released her with a quizzical expression on his face.

"No…" He answered slowly, not quite sure of what was going on.

"He had the gun and…and…" She seemed unable to finish the sentence as he realised she was still asleep. Sitting up, talking, giving the appearance of being awake but at least part of her was still under the illusion that this was a dream.

"I'm glad. I can't keep watching you die, it hurts too much." Her head fell against his chest as she allowed him to hold her close. She shivered slightly until he rearranged them under the duvet again. She draped herself across him and held him tightly.

He knew it was slightly unorthodox, but if she wouldn't talk about the nightmares when she was awake…

"You keep seeing me getting hurt?" He questioned her as she let her eyes close and rested on him like a pillow.

"Hmm, the gunman…he keeps coming back…I don't save you." She answered brokenly as she slipped backwards into sleep again.

"You have nightmares over me?" He couldn't quite keep the incredulity from his voice as he spoke and winced when she appeared to wake again.

"Uh-huh, I was terrified for you when he shot you…I thought you were going to die…die without knowing…" She slipped away again into the realm of unconscious.

Greg arranged her more comfortably across his chest and then stared at the ceiling. "Knowing what?" He muttered to himself.

He stiffened when she answered.

"Knowing that I love you."

Greg could only stare down at her as she slipped completely into sleep and left him with only the quiet of their breathing to ponder against.

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Lisa awoke to a familiar scent and blinked rapidly against a familiar tee shirt. She lifted her head and winced at the headache that pounded against her skull. She looked over Greg's sleeping face and reached out with careful fingers to inspect his split lip.

Who had done that?

She tucked away the dread she felt at the probable lawsuit she was going to walk into at work if he had aggravated another patient to the point of physical violence.

He slept peacefully under her with one brawny arm wrapped over her waist possessively. She ran a finger down the wiry muscle and realised that all the weight he'd put on was muscle built up from physiotherapy lessons.

He had always been physically intimidating, he was much bigger than her and always stronger but now he was beginning to fill out across the chest and arms at least and definitely in the legs.

Her eyes flickered to the clock and she grimaced. She had to get up for work. She reluctantly rolled away from him and stalked to the shower as quietly as possible. It would probably wake him when she switched it on but that couldn't really be helped.

Greg cracked one eye open and watched her appreciatively as she disappeared into the bathroom. Damn, the woman was fine.

And she loved him.

The knowledge sent him mentally reeling as he thought over it again. He rose to his elbows and stared at the open door to the thrum of the power shower flicking on.

He supposed he shouldn't have been insanely surprised. Why else had she put up with him for as long as she had? He'd just thought it was some misplaced sense of guilt left over from the infarction that had made her hire him and keep him on.

He wondered why she hadn't woken him. Did she remember last night's episode? He thought it unlikely. Didn't people usually forget what they said during sleep?

He scratched his head and yawned as he thought about his own feelings for her. Sure, he cared about her, contrary to popular belief, he _did_ respect her and he had absolutely no problem reacting to her physically…but love her?

He definitely felt something more than lust but his mind shied away from the possibility of being that vulnerable again.

Stacy had broken him when she'd left and he didn't think he could stand that kind of hurt again. Lisa would leave him, of that he was sure, he didn't think he was the type of guy that women could love forever, he always drove them away.

Greg knew that if she had a child with him, then she would be tied to him forever, whether she liked it or not. She wouldn't ignore him if he'd fathered her child, she was too good for that. He could accept her drifting away from him with time he just didn't want her to turn bitter on him.

He scowled at the track his train of thought was rumbling along and abruptly threw back the covers and rolled to his feet. He staggered slightly as his leg spasmed in surprise at the sudden application of his weight. He tottered to the side as he yanked his trousers off and kicked them aside.

He could analyze later, but right now, he needed a shower.

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Lisa let her head rest against water slicked tiles as she stood under the powerful spray of the water. She always felt better after a shower and she could already feel her headache easing.

She jumped in surprise as the shower stall was opened and a large frame loomed into the cubicle with her. Her vision was obscured by the water but she already knew it was him.

His mouth crashed down on hers without warning and she found herself plastered against his long naked body. She purred her approval as his hands roamed over her. Her arms crept around his neck as she kissed him back. He pressed her against the tiles and flattened himself against her giving her nowhere to escape to.

Good thing she had no desire to do any escaping.

Her leg slid over his and wrapped around his thigh as she rolled her hips against his. He murmured wordless approval against her neck as his hot mouth trailed over her skin. A wolfish grin marked his features as his eyes caught on something interesting.

He turned her passion limp body easily and pressed her hands against the wall under the showerhead, she threw a questioning look over her shoulder at him but was soon distracted by the way his hands slipped over her and his mouth found hers again.

Her eyes snapped open again when something wound around her wrists and then around the pipe of the showerhead. She gaped at the long back-scrubbing squishy…thing that had been molded into a temporary set of handcuffs and affixed her to the shower. Leaving Greg completely free to do whatever he wanted to her.

"I can take it off if you want." His voice was husked against her ear and she jolted against her binding as she tried to turn to him. Fissions of excitement skittered over her as she realised she wasn't in control anymore. She swiped her tongue over her lips and swallowed before answering in a slightly strangled tone.

"It's fine."

She could feel his smile against her shoulder as he nudged her legs apart and pressed down on her lower back forcing her to arch to him. Heat hammered through her veins as she shuddered helplessly in his hold as his hands did fantastically torturous things to her and water cascaded down over her exposed back.

When he finally gripped her hips and plunged inside her she arched and screamed in climax.

She panted as his tongue flicked up her spine, licking away water droplets from her skin as he moved inside her.

She moaned as his teeth and beard scraped the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck.

She cried out sharply as his fingers slipped over her molten core in an eye-roll generating caress.

She came apart again as he thumbed her nipples and had her screaming in ecstasy as she writhed under him.

In the aftermath, she hung against the shower and in his surprisingly gentle hold. He lifted her gently and unhooked her from her temporary bindings. He turned her and tilted her head so he could see her indigo lust filled eyes look back at him through her haze of passion. The haze that he had put there.

"You ready for round two?" He asked on a grin as her eyes went wide.

She looked down and realised he was more than ready. The smile soon disappeared from his face when her hand wrapped around him and pulled. He gasped as she smiled.

"Absolutely."


	12. Chapter 12

**WARNING! Smut be here. You don't like it, skip the entire chapter, nothing really plot worthy going on here. Gonna actually let me know if anyone's paying attention to theses bulletins coz I gotta tell you, I don't think anyone reads my stuff that isn't into the entire hot and heavy scene.**

A/N: hey, hey, kiddies! A little smutty chapter just for all you guys that love it and for all you guys that don't…find another fic or skip this chapter. Quick note to HouseAddiction who asked me to review their story (whose title I forget at the moment, sorry, brain like a sieve) I did review both chapter one and chapter two, coz I thought they were really good, but it didn't come up as far as I'm aware. So I'm not ignoring you but my technology's fucked or something and it won't let me. But update soon, coz I'm intrigued!

Reviews are really important coz I was going to delete this story and then someone gave me a lovely review and I kept it up and I'm going to finish it so I need feedback, it keepes the creative process going. So if you're thinking 'oh, someone else will do it.' Then DON'T coz I wanna hear from you, it's not as if I've put the anonymous blacker up, so ye've no bloody excuse.

I've rambled enough. Read, review and enjoy (though not necessarily in that order).

**Chapter 12**

Cuddy walked into House's exam room and didn't even blink when she found him lounging on the exam table with his feet up, his i-pod plugged into his ears and his Gameboy under careful scrutiny as he caught his tongue between his teeth in concentration.

She clicked the door shut behind herself and leant against it as she rallied herself against the headache that felt like two massive hands were cramming her skull into itself while twin jack-hammers pounded out the way in time with every beat of her heart.

She heard him move and opened one eye to see him hopping off the exam table and tossing aside the Gameboy and I-pod. "Headache still hasn't shifted." He murmured, more of a statement rather than a question.

She scowled at him. "You know, you could at least see one patient." Her pounding head had shortened her temper considerably and she really didn't need him sounding like he had all the answers. Even if he did.

"Aaw, is Cuddy feewing a wittle sicky-head?" He mocked her before pulling her gently away from the door and over to the exam bench.

She resisted the strong urge to slap him and moved willingly in his arms as he turned her away from him so she could feel the heat of him through her white shirt.

She was dressed simply today in a full black skirt, made all the more alluring by the nearly hip-high split in the fabric, revealing a teasing glimpse of leg whenever she moved. Her blindingly white shirt had a high collar off set by her trademark pearls looping her throat. Her hair had been coiled up at her nape and held there by two long spiked needles.

Greg snorted as he removed them and set them onto the bench beside him as he hopped onto it and pulled her between his knees. He gripped her there with his legs and ignored the look she sent his way.

"Hey, mind out of the gutter. You need to stand, I need my hands free and I don't want you falling." He said as his hands moved into her hair. She was saved from answering as he massaged her scalp in the most blissful way she could imagine.

She knew he was about to hurt her but she was willing to go through a little discomfort for the pay off. Just like every other dealing she'd ever had with him.

She recognised the way his hands slipped down to her neck and fought the urge to tense as she knew what was coming.

He pushed against the nerve cluster and winced as she stifled a moan of pain. Her hand clamped over his jean clad knee and her nails dug at him even through the fabric as she shuddered and whimpered through the pain.

He scowled. If she was going to be shuddering and whimpering in his arms he definitely didn't want it to be from pain.

He held her back against his chest as she panted through the unclenching of her entire body.

"Better?" He husked against her pearl earring before nibbling at her ear. She murmured something in the assent and settled back against him, relaxing for a moment. Her eyes were still shut as she went limp against him and he wondered for a moment if she had fallen asleep.

He was disproved when her hand traced over his jaw and she smiled up at him. "Thank you." She said before she arched and pressed her lips to his.

He mumbled approval as he deepened the kiss and pushed her backwards over his arm as he held her between his arms and legs. Her hand moved from his jaw to tunnel through his hair as her tongue swirled against his.

He pulled away from her mouth and kissed his way down towards her pearls.

"I like your skirt." He mumbled against her skin and trailed his fingers over the fine black material. She arched against him in answer. "Pretty and functional." He grinned as his hand slid under the slit of the skirt and stroked over her. "Underwear today, hmm? Guess the split's a bit too high to risk going commando, huh?" He said as he admired her red silk French underwear.

She didn't answer as she moaned and her nails scored his jacket in mindless pleasure. "Greg!" She panted as she tried to get away from him and get closer all at the same time.

He swallowed her first cry of pleasure with his mouth as he sat back over the bench and draped her across his lap. He held tightly to her waist as she writhed in his arms as he heaped layer upon layer of pleasure onto her.

He kept kissing her as his hand moved over and inside her in a blaze of delight. She whimpered against his lips as they moved against hers with an almost bruising force. Her thoughts were far from pain though as he sent her reeling out into an abyss of sensual nirvana.

She seemed to be nowhere and everywhere for a moment as she hung in carnal limbo and she moaned as he gently stroked her back to earth with nips and kisses against her neck.

She stared at the hospital ceiling tiles and wondered how a headache treatment had turned into a five-alarm orgasm. She wasn't even worried about someone walking in on them. She belatedly realised that she should have been worried because anyone could have done exactly that and then there wouldn't have just been betting pools and rumours about the dean and the diagnostician doing the wild thing every chance they got.

Greg didn't seem to be worried at all as he set her back on her feet and caught her as her knees buckled. He held her easily and didn't let go of her until he was sure she wasn't going to fall again.

He grinned, looking immensely pleased with himself as he took in her slightly mussed appearance. Her hair tumbled down her back and her collar was slightly askew and there was no disguising the swollen curve of a just kissed and kissed hard mouth.

Her eyes were also slightly unfocused and that charming shade of purple again.

He reached out and straightened her collar as she blinked rapidly and tried to turn into Cuddy again. Her eyes fell to his lap and widened as heat scored her cheeks.

"And just how do you plan on doing clinic duty with that?" She blurted and immediately wished she hadn't as he laughed, admittedly, it was a strained laugh as he readjusted his jeans and hopped from the exam bench with a wince.

"Well, lucky for you, it's already five, and if I get special permission from the boss then I can go home early and take care of it myself." He grinned at her again as the colour heightened against her cheeks and her eyes darkened in fresh arousal.

Her eyes tracked over him hungrily as she swallowed. "Okay, you can go home, but you're under strict orders to wait for me." She husked as he kissed him and nipped his bottom lip between her teeth as her hand stroked over his bulging fly. He rotated his hips against her hand and nearly whimpered himself when she pulled away.

"Don't make me wait too long." He ordered as she grinned and then swept out of the door with a toss of her newly loosened hair and her dean-face on.

If anyone noticed that Cuddy looked exactly like she thought she did then they didn't bother to mention it.

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House winced as he got out of his car and moved quickly to his apartment. The last thing he needed was to be arrested for indecent exposure, or blatant parading of the biggest hard-on ever. Well, it might not have been the biggest _ever _but it definitely felt like it.

He shuffled into his apartment and tossed his coat aside along with his keys.

Jesus.

He had been joking about taking are of things himself but if it didn't go away soon he might have too. He had tried thinking cold thoughts but invariably his sex-soaked mind swung back to Lisa and he had been back to where he'd started.

Hell, he probably could have used it to hit the gas pedal on the corvette if he'd wanted to.

He sighed as he thought about waiting for Lisa to get here. She'd be at least another hour. He knew her, she'd have every intention of crawling into her Lexus and following him home like a good little sex-kitten but she'd get stopped by a donor or a nurse and have to dean-like things and then she'd want to go and get an overnight bag or something and then she'd probably want to show- -

Greg was interrupted by a sharp rapping on the door.

He wondered how he was going to explain answering the door in his current condition to an unfortunate Jehovah's Witness or Wilson or whoever it was.

He used the door to shield his lower half as he swung it open his eyes widened when he saw who was on the other side.

He whipped the door open and barely prepared himself for Lisa as she leaped into his arms and crushed her mouth to his. He caught her waist as her fingers speared his hair. They crashed backwards against the door and slammed it shut with their bodies.

He moaned as the impact sent her teeth into his lip in what was supposed to be a playful nip turned into a fully fledged bite. She licked the blood away without a thought as he continued to kiss her with fervour.

She muttered an apology but he didn't really hear her as her hands unleashed him from his jeans that, by now, felt like they were six sizes too small and her hands wrapped around him in a caress of bliss.

He roared as he thrust against her hand and sank his teeth into her shoulder at the sensation. He pulled her red panties down her long legs and tossed them high over his shoulder. He'd had more than enough of foreplay by this point and hefted her against the door as he pulled her legs apart and stepped between them.

Her hand was still wrapped around him and would have him finished too soon if she kept that up. He grabbed her wrists in one large hand and pressed them against the wood above her head as his other hand gripped her hip and his body kept hers from sliding down.

He angled her perfectly as she panted and met his lust filled eyes. She smiled wickedly and tightened her legs about him as he thrust. She screamed and came apart in his arms in the first stroke.

He growled as she shuddered and he noticed she was wearing far too many clothes. He fisted her shirt in his hands and ripped it off her in a vicious tug that sent buttons flying. He nearly finished himself off when he realised what she was wearing under that crisp shirt.

A corseted camisole was tugged away from her breast by his teeth as he thrust into her and she moaned. He tore the silky material that was keeping her flesh from him with his teeth and then laved his tongue over her sensitised nipples as she cried out again and rolled her hips against his.

She tugged against his hands and he released her immediately, thinking he'd gone too far, that he'd hurt her, thinking just about anything apart from the truth.

That he was turning her on far too well.

As soon as her hands were free, she grinned wickedly and attacked his shirt. It split apart under her fingers and furled to the floor before his tee shirt was also swung away in an impressive arc.

A sudden glint entered her eyes as her foot unhooked from his hip and slammed backwards against the door at the same time as she threw her weight forward. The kick and shift in her weight was enough to unbalance him and they tumbled to the floor with a husky laugh from her and a grunt from him.

He looked up at her, slightly surprised and very happy to be where he was. She shifted over him as she straddled him and grinned down at him. "I think you've been in charge long enough, don't you?"

Her voice was breathy as she husked the question at him and took his wrists in her hands. She couldn't hope to hold him if he didn't want to be but she pressed his arms to the floor above his head and grinned as she ordered him to keep them there.

He smirked and, for once, didn't disobey her.

His smirk turned to a moan of pleasure as her hands roamed down his arms and across his chest followed closely by her lips, tongue and teeth. Her hips circled against his and had him gasping as he fought to keep his hands where they were.

She seemed to sense his weakening and trailed her fingers back up over his arms to clasp against his. Her lips met his again as she pivoted against him and rippled her internal muscles around him in a mind-blowing caress.

He thrust upwards and shouted against her as the top of his head seemed to come off in a fantastic climax. He shuddered under her as she moaned in her own climax and panted against his mouth as she rested her forehead against his.

His chest heaved as he slowly came back to the real world and rubbed her back as his arms went around her. The floor was cool against his back, but for the moment, he was fine. His lip stung a little but he considered it a war trophy and was happy to have it there.

Her head rested against his chest before it lifted and she examined the bite. "Hmm, are you okay? I didn't mean to bite that hard." Her fingers traced the mark that had so obviously been made by human teeth and wondered idly how he planned to explain this away.

He shrugged carelessly and smiled at her. "Blame it on the door, or we can blame it on your possessive tendencies. I consider myself 'marked'." He teased as she frowned. He sobered as he looked at the mess they'd made of the doorway to his apartment and the very obvious dent she'd made in the door when she kicked it.

"Most couples don't have wild mind-blowing sex when one of them complains of a headache." He murmured as he considered getting her off the floor, and how to do it gracefully.

She laughed and sat up, still straddling him, and tugged him up to a sitting position.

"I guess we're just dysfunctional then." She grinned as she kissed his lip better and the kiss soon turned to something more.

They sprang apart as someone hammered on the already battered door.

Greg looked at the door and then back to Lisa. Her eyes were wide as she mouthed to him.

"_Were you expecting someone?"_

He shook his head and then jolted as if remembering. He slapped his forehead and grinned. _"Foxy-boxing Club, my turn for hosting tonight." _He mouthed back and winced when she slapped his shoulder, albeit, quietly.

"House! I know you're in, you don't have a social life!" Wilson yelled through the door.

Lisa's eyes met Greg's and they both swore.

She sprang from his lap and tiptoed about as quietly as her stiletto heels would allow and searched frantically for her clothes that lay scattered around the doorway while Greg readjusted himself.

She swore again when she couldn't find her underwear. Greg scowled at his best friend through the door and vowed to dispatch him as quickly as possible even as he ushered Lisa down the hall and into his bedroom.

He cast a desperate glance around for the underwear, for a pair of bright red knickers they sure were good at going incognito. He scowled and decided that he would have to find them before Wilson did and opened the door.

"Hey, Jimmy." Greg said in what he hoped to not be a hopelessly just-been-screwed-and-how voice.

"Jeez, is that a bite?"


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey, hey, finally, I update for all you patient people out there. I was momentarily inspired for another fic (I'm already thinking about another Huddy one, shock horror, I know) so I had to write that and then post it and then I just HAD to do the next chapter…you know how it is. **

**Anyway, here we are, I couldn't decide whether or not to have Wilson find out so…well, read it and see, I think you'll like what I've done. **

**Read, enjoy, review beacuase it helps to stop me from going on those little maiming sprees, which oddly enough, I get arrested for (most of them deserve it, I swear). **

**Oh yeah…adult content, you know the drill. **

**Chapter 13**

"_Jeez, is that a bite?" _

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House's finger's automatically went to the injured lip in question and then shrugged as he welcomed Wilson inside.

"Teaching Steve a new trick and he decided he didn't want to learn." House muttered as he cast his eyes about for that infernal pair of panties. Most women didn't need a beeper for their underwear. "Drink?" He asked absently.

"Sure. Scotch?" Wilson padded over to the couch and sighed as he picked up House's shirt on the way and flipped it over the back of the couch. "Could you please at least put away your clothes when your finished with them?"

House smirked. "What makes you think it was me?" He opened the drinks cabinet and poured himself a double. He had a feeling he was going to need it.

"Who else could it…? Ah, the mystery lady." Wilson guessed.

House looked up in time to see Lisa swing out of the bedroom and glare at him. She gestured indicating a manoeuvre that he didn't think was anatomically possible and he winced but was prevented from defending himself by Wilson's watchful gaze.

He instead ambled over to the couch and handed Wilson his drink. Wilson was watching him and took his drink slowly with narrowed eyes.

"So what brings you over here?" House asked casually as he tossed back his head and swallowed his drink. He nearly choked when he saw a scrap of bright red silk hanging from the light fitting. He abruptly looked back to Wilson and studiously avoided looking at the underwear.

Wilson continued to watch him as House poured himself another drink and tossed that back as well.

"I actually came to see if you knew who Cuddy was seeing? There's a betting pool on and I want to have any insider information you might possess." Wilson swirled his drink casually as he spoke.

House frowned. "How do you know Cuddy's dating anyone?" She was going to kill him tomorrow. House could see the headline now; _Dean Kills Young Oncologist, Diagnostician Saved the Trouble_.

"When I walked past her at the nurses station today she was smiling."

"Ye Gods and little fishes!" House slapped his jaw in mock surprise. "Quick phone the Pope, the world's going to end! Cuddy smiles all the time, she thinks it makes her look pretty." House threw back his drink and enjoyed the burn. Yeah, Wilson was going to die, but House was first.

"No, she was singing as well, you know, happy woman singing." Wilson explained as he swallowed his drink with a toss of his head.

House frowned when he didn't lower his head. He stared at a point just over House's shoulder and House winced as he already knew what his buddy was seeing.

"Please tell me that's her underwear." Wilson asked.

"Who? Cuddy's?" House asked a little wildly.

"No, your mystery woman's underwear that is currently decorating your light fitting." Wilson pointed with his glass and then swallowed the rest of its contents.

House whirled and made a show of noticing the aforementioned undies. "You calling me a cross-dresser?" He asked Wilson, better to put him on the defensive.

"Well, I wouldn't put it past you. Maybe your narcissism has finally tipped you over the edge." Wilson shrugged with a smirk and rose to his feet. "I'm going to go now. You were obviously in the middle of something." Wilson headed for the door at the same time as House made for the bedroom.

Wilson stilled as he noticed a familiar jacket and bag slumped by the door. A definitely female jacket and bag. Where had he seen those before?

He slipped out of the door and shut it quietly behind himself. He mulled over the woman's identity in his mind. He must know her if he had seen that jacket before. He whipped out his keys and the car pipped as the alarm system shut off.

Wilson froze.

His head snapped up and he back-pedalled to look down at the registration on the _very_ familiar Lexus parked by the kerb.

Wilson's mouth fell open as he whirled and looked between the car and the apartment door. A slow smile split his features and he chuckled to himself as he swung himself into his own car.

He gunned the engine as he muttered to himself.

"About damn time." He smirked as he nosed the car out into the traffic and down the street. His smirk widened into a smile as a whole string of possibilities opened themselves up to him.

Oh, he was going to have so much fun with them.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Lisa poked her head out of the door and nearly lost her nose as Greg stopped barely inches from her. "Is he gone?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, but not before he saw these." He held up a scrap of red for her inspection and she frowned for a moment as her hand went to her mouth and the colour flared over her face.

"Does he know…?" She nearly choked on the question.

"Unless you've been flashing your underwear about clinic, then I think not." Greg smirked and then let his eyes travel over her. She looked delightfully rumpled with her tousled hair, kiss-bruised lips and that lovely blush painting her skin. He couldn't help but reach out to trail a finger over the ripped strap of her corseted camisole, the effect somehow making her look vulnerable.

She shook herself from her agonising as his finger made contact with her skin. She watched him trail the digit down to trace the laced edge of the silk cup and then her indigo eyes flickered up to meet his sky blue ones.

He stopped as her stomach yowled.

She blinked in surprise and pressed a hand to her abdomen. She looked at him slightly guiltily. "I guess I'm hungry."

He smiled easily. They had already taken the edge off so he could wait while they ate. "Come on, I think I've got some groceries in the fridge." He pushed away from the doorframe and ambled down the hall.

"You? Buy groceries?" She couldn't help but tease him as she stalked behind him down the corridor to the kitchen. She pretended not to notice when he turned and caught her checking out his ass.

"No, that would be silly, but the maid is really very good at it." Greg grinned as he pulled her into the kitchen by her wrist and opened the fridge before standing her in front of him so she could see what was there.

"Wow, she is good, can she shop for me sometime? Is that a sirloin?" She bent over to investigate and Greg thought about getting into the fridge at the turn his thoughts took at the pose. She needed to eat, she was still far too thin, he thought. His hand moved over her side as she investigated the fridge, though she was still as lush as ever in some places.

She arched a look at him over her shoulder with those bedroom eyes and he moved away before he did something really stupid. Like offer to be her plate.

"I'll cook." She announced as she yanked various things out of the fridge, a few he'd had no idea were in there and piled them next to the stove.

"You don't have to..." He trailed off as she shot him a look.

"Don't worry about it. Cooking relaxes me and I want to make you something." She said as she set about pulling pots and pans from the cupboards and generally rummaging about.

So he sat and watched her cook. He supported his chin on his hand as he watched her enthuse over the groceries that Lorna had picked up at some obscenely expensive store, he was suddenly glad of every penny that he had spent as Lisa offered him food to try as she cooked.

"Here, cheese sauce, try it." She demanded as she held out a chunk of torn bread slathered in sauce. He obediently opened his mouth and munched. He stilled and his eyes shot to hers. He took the bread from her and demolished more in record time as she grinned and turned back to the stove.

He stood and wrapped his arms around her waist as she stirred pasta into the sauce. " I think my tongue just orgasmed. More." He pleaded as he kissed her neck and smiled.

"It'll be ready in about five minutes, I just have to fry the potatoes and chop the ham and then you can have all you want." She told him as she adjusted her cooking so that she didn't have to move away from him.

"Aaaw…but I'm hungry now." He mock whined as he pulled her back against him while she chopped ham on a board he hadn't known he owned. His body wholeheartedly agreed with the hunger part but not strictly on how to satiate it as her frame curved against his. "Never mind, I think I can occupy myself." He murmured as he swept her hair out of his way and dropped kisses and licks over her neck and shoulders.

Lisa tried to concentrate on what she was doing as she chopped potatoes into a sizzling pan and added the ham to the pasta, they could both do without veggies she thought, besides, he didn't have any.

"If you distract me and I burn it, you'll never get any dinner." She warned as she found herself letting a pot boil over as he continued to stroke her. She elbowed him lightly. "Set the table and then I'll think about what to give you for dessert."

Greg grumbled as he moved away to do as he was told but he smirked when he realised she might not just be talking about the vanilla cheese cake in the fridge.

"Ooh, such temptations you offer, boss-lady." He mock growled as he finished setting the table and smirked as his stomach did some growling too. His smile turned gleeful with anticipation as she slipped plate heaped with food in front of him.

"And don't you forget it." She grinned as she scooped pasta into her mouth and chewed with pleasure.

They ate in compatible silence until both plates were cleaned and then stuck with the pots into the sink to soak. House demanded that they could wait and dragged her through to the living room. He sank onto the couch and swung his legs up onto the leather. She arched a look at him which soon vanished as he tugged her down between his legs and then down across his chest.

She smiled as he wrapped an arm over her to anchor her close. Like she wanted to be anywhere else. She grimaced as reality intruded.

"I'll have to leave soon."

He stilled slightly under her and she felt him look down at her, away from the television, she hid her surprise that he could drag himself away from Loony Tunes that long, but didn't comment on it. "Why? I want you to stay." He said.

Her smile widened at the words but her practical nature intruded, thoroughly annoying her growing slinky side. "I don't have a change of clothes, or even a toothbrush." She protested lightly, though he could tell he would be able to convince her to stay if he tried hard enough.

"I have a spare and you won't be needing clothes for what I have in mind." He dropped a kiss on her lips as she turned to look up at him and she melted against him instantly. He stroked a hand over her as he deepened the kiss and she purred deep in her throat. "Stay." He asked between kisses down her neck.

"I should really go…" She was weakening and they both knew it.

He scooped her up in his arms and stood as she let out a squeak of surprise at the sudden move and change in altitude. "Put me down! You're leg…"

"Keeping you is worth any discomfort." He stated as he moved to the bedroom with far more ease than she could have imagined.

His words did stupid things to her flip-flopping heart before she sternly reminded herself he just wanted to screw her mindless in the comfort of her own bed. He'd been fed, watched some TV and now he wanted sex. Heaven for any red-blooded male, she hammered the thoughts through her brain.

It was just extremely difficult for her heart to accept these cynical musings as he laid her gently on the bed and came down on top of her with a soul-searing kiss that had her arching and moaning under him like some wanton.

Which was exactly what she became around him.

He made it even more difficult for her to brush it aside as 'typical male' when he showered her with kisses as he peeled of her clothes. Laving sensual attention on every inch of exposed flesh.

Difficult wasn't the word for it when he discarded his own clothes and moved into her with a tenderness that had tears pricking the back of her eyes.

Difficult was nowhere near good enough as he pushed her to climax again and again and soothed her with soft words and steamy kisses afterward.

And when he shouted her name and proclaimed her his as he wrapped her in his arms afterwards to cuddle her to sleep…when he did that she had the feeling that _she_ was the difficult one.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Well…I have no idea where this chapter came from. It was another one of those, auto-type moments I'm afraid. It's a little short and I suppose the term would be bitter-sweet. **

**Right, I think I should tackle the rumours surrounding my upcoming fanfictions. I WAS going to write a CSUI/House crossover, but alas, the Gods of plot bunnies are fickle and the damn thing fell through when I realised I had a little idea, a good scene, but nothing like a real story. **

**I AM however, writing a Halloween Challenge Fiction, which I will post as soon as my computer stops being a bastard (hopefully before fecking Halloween) if not, it'll have to be changed to a Christmas challenge sigh**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter and show it hint hint as it was a fair wee bastard to write. **

**Luv and hugs ciao! **

**Chapter 14**

Greg yawned and blinked as he awoke. He smiled contentedly as he realised what the weight across his chest was.

Lisa lay sprawled across him like another blanket. Her leg thrown over his hips and her nails making sure that he didn't leave the bed without her say so as her arms wrapped around him.

He smiled, enjoying her unconscious possessiveness.

He had been a little concerned when she had been so willing to give him up to Stacy. He had known that she'd been hurting about it, but she hadn't asked him to stay with her.

She loved him though, and that knowledge curled in his chest like a tongue of flame as he grinned from ear to ear. He was smart enough to recognise that he was falling for her as well, but as long as he didn't think about it too much, he wouldn't freak out.

He looked over at the alarm clock and then stretched to switch it off. He didn't want to wake her unless he had to. PPTH could manage one morning with her being late if that's what it took.

The movement caused her to stir and he stroked her back to soothe her. He felt more than saw her eyelashes flutter against his skin as she woke up.

"Hmm…good morning." She said on a sleepy sigh and stretched against him in such a way as to have other parts of him waking up to say good morning.

Something she wasn't oblivious to. Her hand stroked over his chest and then down his belly to wrap around him. She stroked him and had him swearing softly.

"Well? Is it a good morning?"

"It is now." He growled as he tugged her across his chest and rolled her beneath him. His mouth crushed hers in a searing kiss and she purred her approval as her arms twined around his neck. His hands stroked down her sides and she arched to the touch.

Her own hands skimmed over his shoulders and across his chest. She pushed with her hands and he lifted away from her reluctantly. He frowned down at her slightly. Watching her look him over.

"What is it?"

A wicked grin curled her lips. "I just like to look at you, okay? You get to ogle me at work so I figure I can at least get on good look at you _not _at work."

He arched a brow at her. "I'm no different than I was last night."

"Hmm, true, but you are different. You're getting bigger." She stroked her hands across his shoulders and chest again. He grinned and nudged between her legs.

"With every damn second." He nipped her neck as she chuckled.

"Not that I don't enjoy that, but that's not what I meant."

"Really?" He raised an arm and flexed it, bunching the muscles along the limb. Now that he thought on it, he was bulking up a little. Not anything huge, he would always be skinny, but there was definitely a difference. "Does the lady approve?"

A smile curled he lips that could only be described as lecherous. "Oh, hell yes. I told you those physiotherapy sessions would do you good." She gasped as his lips went to work on a defenceless nipple.

"Hmm, if this had been my reward I'd have taken them up years ago." He kissed his way across to the other nipple and she whimpered as his jaw scraped her.

She gasped as he bit her and her leg wrapped over his hips as she arched to him. He took the invitation and spanned her waist with his large hands as he angled her to him.

They came together with a cry of pleasure and surged into each other with a mind numbing ecstasy.

He drank in every sigh of pleasure her lips issued, the way her legs tightened around him, the way she would muffle her screams of pleasure by biting her lip and the way her hands gripped his shoulders as she surged to meet him.

He held her close as he sent her screaming over the edge and followed her with a shout of completion.

He rested on his elbows above her and panted as he came down from the high as she watched him, her chest heaving and a small smile playing over her lips.

"What?" He murmured against her lips.

"Oh nothing, I just assumed because you were late every morning that you were incapable of being this active in the a.m. I guess I was wrong."

"Uh-huh, snark now that I've pleasured you, I'll remember that." He teased as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Oh, don't pout, you know you love it." She teased as she stroked his jaw and pressed a kiss to his chin.

"Hmm, yeah, I do." He noticed her still a fraction and then shrug it off.

"I need to go home and get ready for work. I'm already late enough as it is." She spoke softly but made no move to leave his bed.

"You knew what time it was?" He leant on one arm as he stroked a curl behind her ear. He liked this just-been-screwed look on her. Even more when he'd been the one to put it there.

"Well, yes, but I think they can cope for an hour without me." She sighed and wriggled out from under him. He scowled and watched her dress, she seemed determined to go, he gave a sigh and rolled to find his jeans.

He tugged them on and searched in vane for his leg brace. He scowled when he couldn't find it and looked up at a familiar clank. Lisa held the brace out to him with a smile tugging her lips. He grinned self deprecatingly and strapped it on.

He followed her out the door and made no comment when she stole one of his shirts and tied it over her corseted camisole under her breasts. House enjoyed the view as she set about gathering her things.

He reluctantly opened the door for her and then started in surprise as thunder rolled overhead. One look at the weather and he changed his mind.

It was pouring outside. Rain hammered the already flooded roads and he was pretty sure that some of it was hail.

"Uh…no." He said.

Lisa turned to him. "What?" Her eye caught on the weather conditions and she frowned. "Oh. Well, I'll drive slow."

Greg turned to her incredulously. "Ex-squeeze me? Did your little compact morph into a Jeep over night? No way are you driving in that. Call in and say you can't go in." He ordered.

Whoops, wrong thing to say.

Her brows snapped down in a glower. "I have too much to do today to stay off. Some of us work for a living." She snarked and headed for the still open door.

"They can manage without you for a day. I bet Wilson's already in there and taking care of everything." Greg tried for logic, but as far as he was concerned the decision was already made.

"It's not Wilson's job to take care of everything, that's what I do." Lisa said slowly as if explaining to a small child. ""You can stay off if you want, but I'm getting in that car and going to work." Lisa pointed with her keys and marched past him.

She walked bareheaded through the rain to the car, she had to go home and get changed anyway, and a shower definitely wouldn't kill her. She made it to her car and lifted the key to unlock it when a brawny arm snaked around her waist. "The hell you're going to work."

Lisa made an extremely undignified sound as she was unceremoniously hauled off her feet and tossed over Greg's shoulder in a fireman's hold. Air whooshed out of her lungs as her stomach connected with his shoulder, and she was prevented momentarily from objecting as she was hustled back into the apartment.

"You are not going to get yourself killed just because you're too damn proud to call in and say you won't be in because you've had your prerequisite day off per annum." Greg growled as he strode back into the apartment and slammed the door shut behind him.

Lisa dropped her bag and jacket in favour of slapping the bare skin of his back, now they were both soaked to the skin in the twelve or so seconds they'd been outside. "Put me down!" She demanded mostly pissed but a little amused at the same time.

"Fine." He snapped.

Her world tilted again and she found herself deposited on the edge of his claw-footed bath tub. She reeled slightly at the sudden change in altitude, but managed to level a fairly successful glare at him nonetheless.

He thrust the taps on and stuffed a plug into the bath. He then turned away from her and shoved and through his damp hair. "I don't care if you scream and shout and sit in a corner and huff all day, I'm not letting you go outside in that weather. It's practically a hurricane."

"I think you're exaggerating just a little…"

"No!" Greg sliced a hand through the air and had her jumping. He softened at the look of worry in her eyes. "It's too easy to loose control in slick roads like that." He added.

"Oh, and I suppose you're the freaking epitome of control after your little caveman impression out there?" Lisa shot back as she surged to her feet and went toe to toe with him. Her blood boiled in indignation, just because they were sleeping together didn't mean he could walk all over her. "I need to go into work."

"No, you don't and I'm not letting you, so get comfortable." He snapped and shoved a bolt of bath gel into the thundering water of the filling tub.

"Why is this so important? It's just some wet weather, we're too far north for a hurricane and you know it. What's the real reason for this?" she had been edging for the door as she spoke and she was nearly there, she fully intended to just walk out if she had to.

He moved so suddenly then that she had no time to get out of the way.

His hand slammed into the door and crashed it into its frame with a clash of wood. Lisa backed against the hard wood as his hands slapped into the wood on either side of her head. His face was inches from hers.

"I'm not losing you. I can't. I won't." His eyes bored into hers as her mouth opened in words that never came.

"Oh." She managed after a moment. "Greg…you won't." Her hand stroked over his jaw as his chest heaved and he rested his forehead against hers. "Even if I leave, you know I'll come back, don't you? Will you trust me on that?" She asked softly, half afraid of what he might answer.

"Yeah." He muttered as he turned away from her to shut off the water in the bath. He flicked a hand through it to check it was suitably warm and then turned to smile at her shakily. "You'd better get out of those wet clothes. I don't want you to get pneumonia. Please, no cracks about me not being able to care."

Lisa watched him still leaning against the door. She had always known him to be intense, but she had never been in the eye of the storm like that. She had seen every emotion play across his face.

She pushed away from the door and he moved to walk around her to leave. Her hand on his arm stopped him. She couldn't let him leave with it like this between them.

Her eyes slid over him. "You're in wet clothes too." She said softly.

He looked down and saw that he was indeed, standing in only a soaked pair of Levis. "So I am. I bet that was a shock for the neighbourhood seeing me flashing my hot bod." He smirked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

She smiled back, accepting the olive branch. "Yeah, you'd better watch or you'll have them lining up around the block."

He moved closer to her and smirked again, this time with some genuine humour in it. "Aaw, shucks, Dr Cuddy, you'll make me blush."

"Hmm, better watch though, I'm the jealous type, I don't take kindly to competition." Her finger trailed along the edge of his jeans that were slung so low on his hips she thought they might come down at the slightest provocation.

A thought she was rather looking forward to testing.

"Let's get out of these wet clothes, I think we can both fit in that bath of yours." She said as she tilted her head and he lowered his.

The bath had been specially made to accommodate his size, it would be a tight fit but he supposed they wouldn't mind being in close quarters. His lips brushed over hers and she sighed as she moved against him and began to remove his jeans.

His hands went to the buttons of the shirt she'd commandeered and set about peeling the clammy fabric from her cool skin. Skin that warmed readily under his touch.

He smiled a small smile and tugged her towards the waiting steaming water. She was definitely his now.


	15. Chapter 15

sinister scribe,

The following review has been submitted to: A Prank Too Far Chapter: 1

From: Anon ()  
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I skimmed through your story and I really liked the beginning. There was chemistry between Cuddy and House, and even the original character (I normally don't like orginal characters) was enjoyable as voice of the audience- in that she's saying what we're thinking. But as the story progressed, House and Cuddy were lovey-dovey with each other without there being a real spark anymore besides constantly jumping the bed. Plus, while the magic whisky thing was cute, the whole hostage situation bordered on ridiculous. Then after a while the orginal character just kind of got over bearing and mary sue-ish. But this is just one reader's opinion.  
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**Okay, kiddies, sorry about this, but I just received a review from some anonymous…thing, for my 'A Prank Too Far' fanfiction and because the little shit was too cowardly to leave a reply address I guess I'll just have to vent to you guys. Feel free to skip this as I'm about to get quite virulent.**

To whoever it was; I don't mind criticism, in fact I find it a little refreshing at times but what I really cannot stand is to be patronised. I know this fanfiction was far-fetched and bordering on the ridiculous, and to be quite honest that is completely what I intended. I wanted a fun romp for House and Cuddy and a little bit of practice for writing my own characters (her name was Tawny McQueen by the way you arrogant piece of filth, the least you could have done as you were 'skimming' was to learn her name).

As for House and Cuddy being out of character, lovey-dovey, and constantly jumping into bed with each other, I would like to remind you that it was listed under the 'romance' category.

Tawny (that's the original character BTW) was supposed to be over bearing and in your face as that was part of her character, I needed someone bigger and scarier that House so, yes, she was a bit of a caricature but since I have no idea what 'Mary sue-ish' means I'll put it down to another one of you down talking little idiosyncrasies.

And as for leaving an anonymous review and then saying 'But this is just one reader's opinion'; you're damn right it is. If your going to leave a review on my writing and throw it in my face the least you could do is have the guts to leave your name so that I can reply to you alone and REALLY tell you what I think of your entire attitude and then have enough balls not to back off and try and make it like you were doing me a favour by telling this to me.

If you really didn't like it so much then why did you read all 36 FREAKING CHAPTERS?

To me, that represents a level of mental ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic. So if you have anything else to say, do us all a favour and keep it to yourself you sorry sack of meat.

**Okay I'm done, sorry about that folks. Enjoy this chapter and review, flame me if you want but you'll have to sign in and leave your name if you do coz I'm removing the anonymous review rights to all my work. I apologise for any inconvenience this causes for people that are capable of leaving a civil review and do not sign in, but quite frankly, I'm not here to put up with anyone's kind of shit, let alone the patronising kind. Note to anyone that does flame me, I will reply, I am not forcing you to read any of my stuff and I would be gratified if you didn't force me to read your own moronic opinion. **

**Thank you, come again. **

**Chapter 15**

Cuddy yawned as she read the paper in front of her. She supposed she shouldn't be tired after having had the day off yesterday but it wasn't as if she'd been inactive…a smile fitted itself over her lips at the numerous memories and she blinked to bring herself back to the matter at hand.

She looked up at the polite knock on the door and smiled again as she waved Wilson in. the oncologist smiled pleasantly as he walked across the room and handed her his reports for the day. Cuddy took them and stilled slightly as he sat opposite her.

She tilted her head at him in question as she filed the papers away for later perusal. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah…did you know House has a girlfriend?" Wilson narrowed his eyes slightly as he asked, gauging her reaction.

Cuddy blinked, of all the things she had expected Wilson to say, this was not one of them. "Good for him…and this has what to do with me?" She smiled tightly.

"Well, I just thought you should know that the rumour mill is practically ablaze with gossip about the two of you." Wilson said candidly.

Cuddy had the misfortune of trying to swallow her coffee at this exact point in time and was quite unprepared for the liquid's sudden rebellion at going down her gullet. She choked and coughed as Wilson looked at her.

"What?" She panted, finally having regained a modicum of composure.

"Well, I don't believe it for a minute, I have more respect for your intelligence, but it's now common knowledge that you're dating someone and House is dating someone at the same time and things being as they are between you two…suffice to say that someone added two and two and got a torrid affair."

Cuddy blinked rapidly as she let her coffee cup clunk back onto the table and then clicked her jaw shut as her mind whirled like a squirrel caught in a basket. "Naturally." She murmured as she tried to think of anyone that might have seen House and herself together in various compromising positions.

She came up blank and her brows snapped into a frown as her ears tuned back into Wilson mid-babble to fire a question at him. "How does anyone know who I may or may not be dating?" first things first, find the leak and then stifle it.

Wilson stopped mid-gesture and snapped his eyes to hers. "I don't think you can pick any one person, but you were apparently singing at the nurses station as you were signing a form." He grinned at her.

"I do not sing…"

"Fields of Gold."

"What?" Cuddy stared at him in dawning horror. That was one of her favourite songs, one that she had insisted House play her on his baby grand a few days ago.

"You were singing 'Fields of Gold'. Which isn't exactly appropriate when writing the details of a prostate exam." Wilson pretended to think on the merits of such an action.

Cuddy changed tactics. A good defence is a good offence. "What do you mean things being the way they are between Dr House and I?" Cuddy asked almost sweetly and wasn't above watching Wilson squirm.

"Well…you know about the rumours, don't you?" Wilson was beginning to regret this.

Cuddy just stared at him as her voice lowered a few more dangerous octaves. "What rumours?"

Wilson sighed and decided to be as blunt as possible. "That you and House are going at it like greased weasels at every opportunity." Wilson informed her, some of the rumours were a great deal more graphic than that but Wilson decided, in the interests of his own health, not to enlighten her to such things if she didn't already know.

Cuddy went absolutely still.

Wilson braced himself for the tornado.

It never came. His head shot up in amazement as Cuddy began to laugh. At first just a chuckle of amusement and then she threw back her head and guffawed.

Wilson looked about himself, unsure if he'd just caused his boss to have a minor psychotic episode or not.

"Oh, you're face!" Cuddy laughed at him. "I've never seen somebody looked so frightened in my life."

Wilson heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed in his chair. He then rose to his feet, sensing he'd pushed his luck enough for the day. "Well, whoever he is, he must be good for you. I haven't seen you genuinely happy in quite a while." He smiled at her and then left the office.

Cuddy watched him go as her teeth worried her lip. She reached out casually and picked up her telephone before dialling the extension. She clacked her nails against the wood of her desk as she waited for the other end to pick up.

She jerked slightly when a familiar baritone answered her.

"Hey, Wilson was just here putting on his version of the thumbscrews…not as pitiful as you'd imagine actually. I think he knows…well, as dean of medicine I can't really authorise that." Cuddy smiled and tugged on her earring as she listened to the other caller. "I don't know if I like being called your girlfriend…I _know_ I don't like being called that." She laughed as he teased her. "Okay, I'll try not to be late…I'll even cook if you do clinic…something better than cheese sauce I promise."

"Okay, bye…no, I am not going to give kisses down the phone." Cuddy sighed over dramatically and hung-up. She sat back in her chair and tugged at her thumbnail with her teeth as she smiled to herself.

She sat like that for around three minutes before her insistent work-aholic ousted her laid back self out of the easy chair and back into work. Even as she went back to the papers, she couldn't help but start making a mental shopping list for that night.

She was going to have to pull out quite a few stops to best the cheese sauce after all…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

House looked up and around as the door slammed open and Lisa stalked inside. He had been here for about an hour, she was woefully late, but he would forgive her as long as she fed him.

He looked over, slightly guilty, at the mess he'd made all over her coffee table. It was strewn with some papers he had received from Europe. He was too impatient to wait for the translations to be published and he liked being that extra step ahead.

He watched her move across to him and waited for the scold for messing up her lounge.

"Hey you." She murmured and bent to press her lips against his. He smiled against her lips as she moved a breath away from him. "I come bearing goodies." She smiled back at him and traced her fingers over his jaw.

He grinned wolfishly. "Yeah I know, but what's in the bag?" He swallowed a growl of frustration that the couch separated them and contented himself with leaning up to kiss her again.

"Mmm, dinner, you hungry?" She said between kisses, her hand tripped down over his collar bone and stroked across his chest.

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll get started then." She was gone so suddenly that Greg was unsure that she'd been there at all. He twisted around and scowled after her. If it was a game, then he wanted to play. He always wanted to play.

He levered himself up from the couch and ambled into the kitchen after her. Following the sounds of pots being moved and cupboards being opened and shut. He leant against the doorway and watched her move about her shoebox kitchen.

She flashed a smile at him but didn't stop preparing their meal. "What were you reading?" She asked eventually.

He grinned to himself. He had known it would only be a matter of time. "Secret." He said, still smiling.

She arched a brow at him and then turned back to making sure the oven was at the right temperature. He frowned in confusion. Where was the nag about leaving his stuff all over the place? He voiced this thought.

She looked over at him and shrugged. "You'll take it with you eventually, if it's work stuff, and the place could do with some mess." She frowned in concentration as she hunted for just the right size of pan.

Greg's frown deepened at the comment. "Since when could you even tolerate mess?"

Her eyes drifted to his, having found the pan and settled it over the hob. "My house looks like and _Ideal Home_ centre fold, and as nice as that is for impressing donors when I have to bring them around here, it's not much fun to live in." She removed to massive chunks of meat from her goody bag and held them up for his inspection. "How do you like your steak?"

"Medium rare. I thought you liked it like this."

Her lips twisted and she shrugged negligently as she settled the steaks over the hot pan. "I bought the stuff out there because it matches and it looks good, I don't even like half of it." She confided.

He rocked back on his heels. Well, you learn something new every day. "Then why buy it at all?"

"Package deal at _Laura Ashley's_."

It took him a moment to realise that she was teasing him and he mock scowled at her until she answered truthfully.

"Oh, to impress someone I didn't really need to, I suppose. It just doesn't seem all that important now."

He tilted his head, having the feeling that she was commenting on a lot more than her stuffy furniture.

"What do you think is important now?" He asked gently.

She stopped whatever it was that she was doing and then looked at him. Her tongue traced over her lips and then she reached behind herself. She pulled out a jar of something creamy.

"Pepper sauce?"

Greg opened his mouth and then let it click shut. He wasn't going to push her. "Yeah sure, pepper sauce is great."

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Some hours later, Greg's eyes snapped open and he knew immediately what had awoken him. He turned to her to see her bolt upright, breathing hard.

He sat up as well and rested a hand on her back. "You okay?"

She jumped slightly at the contact or his voice, he wasn't sure which. Turning to look at him with slightly wild eyes but definitely calmer than her other episodes. Her chest heaved under his _Jack Daniels_ tee shirt that her small frame was currently drowning in.

She nodded, shaking slightly. "Yeah, I, uh, I woke myself up before it got bad."

He rubbed her back in soothing circles as her breathing slowed. "You can do that?"

She smiled shakily. "I can now."

"Come here." He pulled her towards him and then back down onto the bed. She curved to his frame willingly as he tucked her under him and propped himself on an elbow to look down at her in the dark.

She shivered slightly again and he pulled the duvet up over them more tightly and wrapped and arm over her as she wriggled closer to him. He didn't think she would, but he asked anyway.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She was silent for a long time and he thought that she was just going to ignore him but eventually her voice reached his ears.

"It always starts the same. I'm walking into the hospital, I haven't even got to my office yet and Brenda stops me on my way past the nurse's station. I swear that woman has a tracking device on me or something…anyway." Her fingers tightened on his arm as it rested over her waist and he listened intently, just letting her speak.

"She stops me and she says to me that something's happened and that you're involved and my first thought is; 'Oh god, what's he gone and done now?', you know, what fire have I got to put out when I'm barely ten feet through the door.?" She laughed then, it was a forced laugh but he rubbed small circles on the curve of her hip with his thumb to encourage her.

"And then she tells me that you've been shot and it's like the rest of the world falls away. I rush over to where they've got you on this gurney and that's where it gets different most of the time. I guess it's because I'm a doctor and I can imagine all the things that could've gone wrong and I just see you die over and over and over." Her voice trailed off and he listened for her to say more. Her fingers fidget over his arm and she heaved in a shuddering breath.

"Pretty stupid, yeah?" She sounded on the edge of tears and he turned her face gently so that he could see her in a shaft of light peeking through the curtains, illuminating that small part of her.

"No. Not stupid at all. You just need to remember that I'm okay, that I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." He dropped a kiss on her forehead.

She smiled slightly and he saw a small silver tear track down her face. "Promise?" She breathed shakily against his chest.

"Damn straight, you couldn't freaking drag me away from the cheese-sauce queen." He flashed a grin at her and was rewarded with another of her own. "Now, go to sleep, I want you wide awake for the revenge I'm planning on Wilson tomorrow."

He felt her shake her head slightly at him as he pulled her closer to him and settled for sleep. He didn't fully relax until he felt her breathing slip into the deep easy rhythm of sleep. He smiled to himself, glad that she'd finally taken a step towards him and then let the thought drift away as he let himself sink into his own dreams.


	16. Chapter 16

ADULT FREAKING CONTENT- YE DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T READ IT!

**A/N: Okay, you wanted revenge on Wilson and this is the best I could come up with, it was one of those things I wrote and had no idea how to back up, but I think you'll like it anyway. Fwoo, I finally posted my Halloween challenge so y'all can go and have a look-see at it and I dunno, mebbe even write a reply. It's fairly open ended so it shouldn't be too difficult. **

**Uuum…jam. **

**I dunno, read and review or whatever. **

**A bit of the smuttiness at the end sooooo…if you don't like it don't read it. We've had this little chat and in case the wee rant at the beginning of the last chappie didn't clue ye in, it pisses me off a wee mite if I'm ignored. **

**Chapter 16**

Wilson jolted as he walked as his phone trilled on his belt. He snatched it off and frowned at the unfamiliar number on the screen. He flipped it open and answered.

"Hey, sexy, wanna chat?" A deep male baritone drifted down the phone line. Wilson pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. He snapped it shut and cut off the caller.

Seconds later it rang again. Another deep male voice propositioning him. Wilson didn't answer the third call and switched off his phone. He scowled at the nurses that giggled as they walked past him.

Something was definitely amiss.

As he walked through the corridors to his office, Wilson had the distinct impression that he was under close scrutiny. People whispering to each other and then looking away when he looked over…this had House all over it.

His suspicions were confirmed when he walked into his office and found a neat pile of fliers on the corner of his desk. He picked one up and his mouth fell open in horror as he quickly scanned the leaflet.

He bolted out of his office and burst into House's. The team looked up and immediately repressed smiles and pitying glances.

"We don't know where he is." Cameron offered.

Wilson's anger flared and he stomped back out of the office and headed for another.

This was taking it too far.

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Cuddy looked up as her doors clattered open and Wilson stormed in, batting the shut blinds out of his way. He looked…upset. Cuddy frowned, oh god, what had Greg gone and done now? She had known he would do something to Wilson but she had been hoping for a sign on his back or something equally school yard-ish not whatever had inspired this amount of ire.

"What can I do for you, Dr Wilson?"

"Well, for a start you can get House to tell me how many of these he's had made up." Wilson threw a handful of leaflets at her and Cuddy picked one up to examine it.

Her eyes widened as she read what was written on it. It was a sex-chat-line leaflet, similar to those found in phone boxes in the seedier parts of cities across the world. It proclaimed loudly that the 'Love Doctor' was in town and that he was wanting to chat anytime. Cuddy bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing, she supposed it really was quite serious but she couldn't help feeling like he deserved it.

"I suppose that this is your cell number?" She gestured to the leaflet and nodded when Wilson answered in the affirmative. She couldn't resist. "Is that really you in the photograph?"

Wilson scowled, snatched the leaflet from her and stormed from the office.

Cuddy grinned. The photograph had obviously been from General Hospital or some other suitably trashy show and had depicted an extremely well built bare-chested doctor standing with his lab coat on and his stethoscope draped suggestively over his chest.

Cuddy hadn't even known that a stethoscope could _be_ suggestive.

Wilson's face had been added to the stripper/doctor and grinned out of the flyer cheekily and no doubt, to those who employed such flyers, in an extremely intriguing manner.

Cuddy sighed and sat back in her chair. She let her eyes trail over to the shut door that lead to the small bathroom adjoined to her office. "You can come out now." She called.

The door opened and Greg poked his head out and grinned. "Is he pissed?"

"I think that would be a 'yes'. Did you really put up flyers all over town?"

Greg shook his head as he ambled over to her desk and sat on the edge of it next to her so her fingers could brush his leg. "No, that might put Jimmy-boy into more demand than he could handle. They're just in the hospital."

Cuddy arched a brow and waited for the rest.

"Okay, you caught me, I might have happened to paper the parking lot as well." Greg shrugged as if this was an unfortunate accident.

Cuddy tried to look disapproving but it was just too funny. She smothered a giggle behind her hand and then smoothed her features into a dean-like mask. "You know if you applied yourself this much to you clinic duties I might think about cutting down your hours." She suggested.

"Well, since we know that neither of us are going to do any such thing, I think you can stop suggesting it. Though if you wanted to think of another way to persuade me…" He trailed off meaningfully with a bob of his eyebrows and a darted look at her cleavage.

She sat back in her chair, denying him such a view and he pouted.

"I am not offering sexual favours so you will do your job." She stated.

He continued to look at her.

"I'm not!" She said again and he grinned.

His head swooped down and he dropped a kiss on her lips. "I know, but I just love to tease you. You're so easy to get a rise out of."

Her eyes darkened and her hand stroked over his thigh and higher. "Hmm, just remember I can get a rise out of _you_ just as easily."

He growled at her. "Don't start something that I can't finish with the door unlocked."

That sobered her somewhat and she pulled away from him though her chest heaved in disappointment. Her eyes darted back to his, still darkened with lust. "Meet me for lunch?"

Greg smirked and nodded as he rose to his feet. Adjusting his jeans as he did so. "Definitely."

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House cycled on the exercise bike with his i-pod in and pondered his latest case. Karen was content to ignore him as she scribbled on her pad on the couch over in the corner of the gym. He didn't actually mind the bike. It meant he could do physical activity while his mind was free to whirl away to itself.

A flicker of movement caught his eye and he turned to look through the glass doors and frowned in surprise when he saw Mark Warner limp through the gymnasium doorway with a scowl on his face.

House slowed his peddling to a stop and yanked his earphones out. The last time he had seen Mark he had been in a wheel chair.

"Piss off." Karen stated without looking up from her writing.

Mark turned and glared at her. "What did you say to me?"

Karen lifted her head and looked at Mark like he was something disgusting on her shoe. "I said; 'Piss off.' It's the polite version of Fuck off. Now, shoo!" Karen gestured with her pen and then dropped her gaze back to her writing.

"Down girl." House ordered and Karen flipped him the finger without looking up as House motioned Mark to come over. "What brings you here?" House tried for friendly and hoped that Mark wasn't here to try and pull him up about giving Stacy a hard time.

"Like you don't know." Mark sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Keep peddling you ingrate." Karen said almost affectionately as she scribbled away to herself. House rolled his eyes and obediently moved his legs to appease her.

"If I don't behave she gets the whips out. I see you're recovering well." House tried again as Mark stared sullenly at him.

"Yeah, look, can we cut the crap. I just want to talk to her." Mark said.

House frowned. "You want to talk to Karen?"

Mark blinked and then scowled. "No, I want to talk to Stacy, where is she?" Mark stated slowly like explaining something to a particularly slow child.

"Okay, you've lost me. Stacy's married to _you_. I know some couples have communications problems but really, this is taking it a bit far." House tilted his head and frowned when Mark gusted a sigh.

"I know she's with you, I just want to talk to her."

House's frown deepened. "Well then go and find her, but she'd not here. I haven't seen her since last week. How long has she been gone?" A hint of worry coloured House's voice as he spoke.

"Last night, we had a fight and she left. I thought she'd come here…she's really not here?" Mark ran his fingers through his hair and looked about himself as if suddenly unsure of where he was.

"We've been over this, vulture woman isn't here, try her freaking mobile." Karen muttered darkly.

House frowned at her and then turned to Mark. "She means she'd worried too." Karen snorted at that but didn't bother to refute him.

"I've tried her cell, she doesn't answer."

"What a surprise, she's probably in a bar somewhere looking for another unfortunate guy to pander to her." Karen bitched from her corner.

House's scowl deepened and he turned back to Mark. "You should call the police if you can't find her." He offered.

Mark nodded and turned away. "Police…right." House didn't follow him as he walked out of the door and away.

House turned to Karen. "What's put you in such a foul mood?" He demanded.

Karen shrugged a frown etched on her features. "The world in general."

House sighed and plugged his earphones back in. He pushed all thoughts of Mark and Stacy's next stunt from his mind. He didn't for one minute believe that she was in any danger. She had probably just driven off somewhere to think. She'd done it often enough when they'd fought.

Besides he had his own woman to think about.

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House looked up and around as Lisa sauntered in the door. She shot a smile his way and held up the bag of take out she held in her hand. She yawned as she shrugged off her coat and then dropped down onto the couch next to him. She settled the bag of dinner on the coffee table and then lounged back against the leather of his couch kicking off her shoes and sending them sailing over the table to clatter against the floor.

He arched a brow at her and her smile widened to an all out grin as she sidled closer to him.

"Hungry?" He asked as she pressed herself against him and stroked a finger down the side of is face.

"Uh-hmm…but not for food." She smirked against his lips as she tugged him down for a kiss. He mumbled his approval as his hands settled over her hips when she straddled him.

"Hussy." He mumbled as she attacked his shirt and grinned when she found no tee shirt barring her way to his chest.

"Only with you." She replied huskily and trailed her fingers down over his belly to make short work of his belt buckle.

"Good." Her suit jacket found its way to the floor closely followed by her shirt and he trailed bites down her neck to pull at the strap of her bra with his teeth. "Bed?" He asked as she swivelled her hips down against him, nearly choking him.

"Hmm…too far away." She moaned as his hands slid her skirt up her legs.

"Glad you agree." He chuckled and pulled her down over him with a twist of his hips that had her gasping. Her nails scored into his shoulders and then stroked into his hair as she demanded another passion soaring kiss.

His fingers tightened on her hips as he urged her into a rhythm that had his veins pulsing fire. Her back arched and she screamed his name as she exploded in his arms. He had time to smile at the sight before he shouted against her skin and followed her into shuddering mind numbing pleasure.

He sagged back against the couch, chest heaving in the aftermath, as he pulled her closer to curl against him. "You realise that you're going to kill me?" He panted as he stroked his fingers through her hair. She didn't wear it down like this very often, he kind of liked the wild curls when she let it loose like this.

"Nah, you can keep up with me." She chuckled against him, slightly breathless, and dropped a kiss on the heated skin of his chest. She sat up to look him in the eye and grinned.

"What?"

"Think you can last through dinner without ravishing me?"

He spluttered and mock glared at her. "Excuse you? I think you'll find it was the other way around. Teasing me in your office you wanton." His hand stroked down her back as she moved away from him and retrieved her shirt.

"You started it." She laughed as she removed boxes from the bag and the smell of Chinese take out wafted towards him. Maybe he did have the energy to eat after all…

"I did not." He protested and leant down to steal a prawn from her fingers with a sweep of his tongue.

"Hey! And you always start it, you can't help yourself. I said 'hey!' eat your own dinner." She protested on a laugh as he stole more prawns from her. She supposed she could be civilised and eat with a fork but the cutlery drawer was so far away and she was hungry _now_.

"But your stuff tastes better." He pouted as she whipped her prawn away from him when he tried to steal it again.

"You don't even know what you have." She pretended to glare at him and shoved the bag towards him.

He titled his head and stroked her back. "Sure I do."

She stopped eating and their eyes met. He resisted the urge to laugh at her rabbit in headlights impression and broke the tension by stealing another prawn from her.

She glared and slapped his shoulder as she made a muffled protest around her mouthful of noodles.

"Here, have some of my chilli beef." He tried to placate her. She looked at the spicy meet warily and swallowed carefully. "What? Too hot to handle?" He dared her and her eyes narrowed in challenge.

"I can take anything you dish out." She shot back as she lent over and closed her teeth over the meat, making sure to nip his fingers in the process and chewed the spicy flavoured strip.

"Is that a challenge?" He asked and fed her more beef.

"Mmm, your stuff does taste better and yeah it can be a challenge…if you were capable of challenging me." She grinned at him as her tongue swirled over his fingers.

"Oho! A bet?" He grinned, warming up to the conversation and taking another proffered prawn.

Her eyes narrowed again as she considered him. "What kind of bet?"

His grin widened as he lapped sauce from her fingers and trailed kissed down her palm to her wrist. "The best kind." He kissed his way to her shoulder and nipped her there through the silk of her opened shirt.

"I'm listening." She ate another strip of beef as she watched him lick his way along her collar bone to her opposite shoulder.

He grinned again and then licked the spicy sauce from the corner of her mouth before munching the prawn she offered him. "Oh…I'll need to think about it, this is a golden opportunity. I'll need to make it worth my while."

"No." She said and he raised an eyebrow wondering if she'd changed her mind. "You'll have to make it worth _my_ while."

His grin returned tenfold as a myriad of possibilities filtered through his mind. "All right…you have yourself a bet."


	17. Chapter 17

**a/n: Okay-dokey kiddies, I know this is a bit sudden but here we go with the angst. It may seem bit slap-dash at the moment but all will be explained in the next chapter…probably. Maybe, if I get around to it. **

**Gawd.**

**Righty…ummm…jam, I dunno read and review I don't think this is going to go the way that y'all are expecting but…meh mebbe y'all are psychic and know exactly what I'm planning. Mwahahah. **

**Chapter 17**

A massive Harley-Davidson purred a thundering growl as it thrummed into the parking lot of Princeton-Plainsboro. The small rider down shifted the gears and simply sat for a moment until most of the people that had stopped to stare at the damn bike had left.

With a straightening of narrow shoulders, the rider swung her long leather clad leg over the saddle of the bike and stood beside the monster machine. Reaching up, the shining helmet was removed from a dark head.

Cuddy sighed with a scowl as she shook out her hair around her shoulders. She looked ridiculous. She couldn't believe that she'd lost the bet.

She wore an outrageous biker's outfit to go with her Harley.

Knee high black leather boots with orange and red flames licking at the toes and heels around the various silver buckles that adorned them were coupled with painted on black leather pants. A tight V-neck tee shirt made of a silky material that also seemed to be painted on covered her torso under the leather jacket.

A spiked dog collar circled her throat along with various bangles and rings on her wrists and fingers. Transfer tattoos adorned her lower back and hips as well as her arms and the curve of her breast visible under her tee shirt.

Cuddy heaved in a deep breath which made her outfit creak and stalked towards the hospital. She licked her black painted lips and knew she was going to pay for this. Deep red eye shadow gave her a sort of punk rock look and had the odd effect of making her look a lot younger than she actually was.

Brenda was the first to notice her as she strode past the nurses station. The older woman's mouth fell open in a large O of shock at Punk-biker-chick-Cuddy. Cuddy kept her face perfectly normal as she tossed her wildly curling hair behind her shoulder with a flick of her wrist and made a bee-line for her office.

Oh, he was going to suffer for this.

The forfeit had seemed so much worse last night but now…

"Dr Cuddy?"

"Yes, Adam?" Cuddy looked at him expectantly as he clearly needed a moment to get over her appearance.

"Are you…feeling all right?"

Cuddy smiled, her white teeth looking especially shocking against black lips. "I'm fine, Adam, can you bring me the first set of spreadsheets please?" Adam nearly choked when she pulled off the leather jacket to reveal her myriad of tattoos and how impressive her cleavage could truly be when given the right upholstery.

It had taken Greg a while to get over that too.

"Adam." Cuddy said when her young assistant kept staring at her. His eyes snapped back to her face and he flushed guiltily.

"Right away, Dr Cuddy." Adam squeaked as he scurried away.

Cuddy sighed as she sat behind her desk and made a mental note not to bend over for the rest of the day or the collective inhabitants of PPTH would be seeing a lot more of their dean than was strictly necessary.

Not to mention that walking was difficult enough in these pants.

Wilson poked his head around the door and grinned. "Hot dog!"

Cuddy looked up calmly. "I resent that." She said without fire.

Wilson's grin widened as he sauntered into the office and sat opposite her. "You know I think your assistant is having a stroke."

"No, that's what he'd like to do." Cuddy said as she booted up her computer and then stopped to stare at Wilson, horrified at what she'd just said. She looked down at her clothes accusingly.

"Dress code_ does_ make a difference."

Wilson chuckled. "He put you up to this."

Cuddy stilled somewhat and shot a look his way. "He who?"

"House."

Cuddy's eyes narrowed as she considered what to say.

Wilson held up a hand. "Don't bother lying, I know you're seeing him."

"Uh-huh, we work together, colleagues happen to come into visual contact on a regular basis." Cuddy said slowly as if explaining to a small child.

Wilson arched a brow. "That's not what I mean and you know it." Wilson sighed. "You were at his apartment on Friday."

Cuddy let her chin drop onto her palm as she feigned interest while inside she was roiling. "Really, I didn't know you were clairvoyant, Dr Wilson." The subtle emphasis on the word 'doctor' had Wilson looking a bit more nervous, Cuddy noted with satisfaction.

"Didn't have to be, your car was outside and your coat and bag were inside." Wilson refrained from commenting on whether or not it had been her underwear on the light.

Cuddy sat back in her chair and regarded Wilson carefully as her hands folded over her stomach. Wilson smirked wryly as he realised that she looked quite dominatrix in that outfit. "And if they were?" Cuddy asked archly, looking for all the world like a vampire queen on her throne.

Wilson shrugged. "Congratulations."

Cuddy blinked rapidly. "That's all you have to say?"

"Well, that, and 'it's about Goddamn time'." He smiled at her.

Cuddy found herself smiling back and then sobered. "You realise you can't tell anyone about this. It's private." She stated emphatically.

"Understandably." Wilson allowed.

The both turned as the door opened and Adam peeked inside, studiously keeping his eyes above his boss's chin. "That's Dr Pendle on line four, Dr Cuddy, something about and emergency meeting of the board."

Cuddy nodded and held up a finger to Wilson to indicate that he wait. She picked up the phone and answered.

She frowned as she listened murmuring occasionally in the assent and then hung up, she scowled at the phone as she replaced it and looked over to Wilson.

"Have you told anyone about my personal relationship with Greg?"

Wilson frowned. "No."

Cuddy glared at him. "Seriously, no, I was planning on using it to wind him up actually, and it kind of looses the bite if everyone knows." He reiterated.

Cuddy stood and turned to look out the window, her hands resting on her hips as a worried frown settled over her features.

"Cuddy, what is it?" Wilson asked, worried.

Cuddy turned back to him a strange blank expression on her features. "The board are calling an emergency meeting to discuss my conduct as Dean of Medicine."

"What, because of the Harley and leather?" Wilson frowned.

"No…to discuss my fraternising with colleagues." Cuddy turned back to the window. "My career is ruined." She muttered almost to herself.

"You don't know that Cuddy, if anyone can change the board's mind it's you. This place would fall apart without you and they know it." Wilson tried desperately to comfort her, though she didn't much look like she needed it. In fact, she looked perfectly fine, like she had been almost expecting this.

"Would you mind leaving, Wilson? I need to prepare for this meeting, it's in half an hour by the way."

Wilson nodded as he watched his boss's straight back. "Sure." He headed for the door but turned again as her voice stopped him.

"Oh, Wilson, don't tell House, he'll just make it worse." Her voice was emotionless as she spoke but Wilson was almost sure that he saw a flicker of something there. Wilson looked ready to placate her and her eyes hardened. "I mean it, Wilson, I'll tell him when I'm ready."

Wilson nodded reluctantly and left.

Cuddy watched him go and then moved to the small bathroom. She opened the door and rested her hands on the cool sink as she looked herself in the mirror. She reached out and ran a flannel under the tap until it was wet, she lifted it to one made up eye and stopped as she caught sight of herself.

She slowly lowered the flannel as it occurred to her that she was acting as they would expect her to. They wanted her frightened, they could vote her off the position and they would expect her to be compliant and do anything to keep her job.

A few weeks ago, she might have done just that. She would have scrubbed off her make up and pulled on of her spare shirts from the closet to make herself a bit more presentable and she would have worried herself sick over the entire thing for the next twenty-eight minutes.

But a few weeks ago, she hadn't been dating Gregory House. She hadn't learned enough about herself to realise that she wasn't really happy with the way her life was going.

Yes, she liked being the Dean and she liked being in a position to help people, but somewhere along the way she had lost what was important to her. The exact moment that the hospital had become more important than her happiness eluded her, but it had definitely happened and perhaps…perhaps this was her chance to fix that.

She loved Gregory House, the thought made her smile at her reflection and then the smile slowly slipped away, but she was beginning to learn how to love herself again. Greg's words drifted back to her from their first night together.

How long was she going to use the hospital and the board as an excuse not to live?

Cuddy shut off the water and walked back out of the bathroom.

Leather and black make up wasn't really her either but it sure as hell was going to put the scare on the Board. The thought made her smile briefly, it seemed somehow right that she would be facing them as an unstable element rather than the Dr Cuddy they knew.

If they were going to make demands on how she lived then she was damn well going to make it difficult for them.

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"So, you freely admit that you are in an intimate relationship with one of your subordinates?"

Cuddy sat back in her chair, seemingly completely at ease with the way her 'trial' was going. Her long legs were crossed easily and her hands folded over her stomach as her elbows rested on the arms of her chair.

She nodded shortly. "Yes."

The board, as one, seemed to jerk as if slapped and Pendle leant forward to ask another question. "So all the rumours about you two…?"

Cuddy lanced him with a glare. "That is none of your business. None of my personal life is anything to do with this hospital." And she meant it, she had been wrapped up in this building for so long that she hadn't even realised how she seemed to feel the weight of every brick, every life in it, on her shoulders. She deserved at least a small piece of it just for her.

That piece was Greg, and she would fight for it if she had to.

"It is our business if it effects your work and the hospital." Sanchez argued.

Cuddy levelled an icy look at him. "Do you have any proof that it has?" She shot back.

"Well, Dr House has always been…" Dr Sanchez trailed off, not exactly sure how to put it politely.

"An ass, I know. The operative word being 'always' my relationship with him hasn't effected his personality, and it isn't going to." Cuddy said, Wilson was watching her carefully, she knew that he was wondering if she was really as calm as she was portraying herself to be. For the moment she was, but she had a sneaking suspicion that later she might fall apart.

She just hoped she was strong enough to pick up the pieces.

"We can't let this continue." Pendle voiced and Cuddy swivelled to regard him the way a wolf might a rabbit.

"'We'?" She asked archly.

"You must break off this relationship with Dr House, or the board will put it to a vote to have him removed from the hospital. Princeton-Plainsboro cannot take the damage to its reputation that this relationship will undoubtedly bring."

Cuddy looked around the room and saw that they were resolved to this. The decision had already been made. Cuddy's jaw tightened in cold hard rage, she was _still_ the Dean of medicine and she _still_ had a trump card to play. She stood slowly and rested her palms on the slick surface as she met the eyes of each member of the board and stared them down. Rage rolled off her in waves and she left none of them as to any illusion about how she felt about this.

"Listen to me very carefully…" She began.

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	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Okay, writey, writey, scribble, scribble and I have typists wrist, what the fuck is up with that? **

**Anyhoo, I hope you understand the discomfort I'm going through, writing this for y'all. As to the reviews that ye little darlins left for me last chapter, I know Cuddy would never wear an outfit like that to work, but the image popped into my head after reading 'Just a Dream' by…somebody, I'm terrible with names, I have to wear a necklace with mine on it so I don't forget. This is a fairly rushed chapter due to demand, but it's all there so ye'll just have to deal with it. **

**Can you imagine what the forfeit was though?**

**Eeeem…what else? **

**As for the board and Cuddy tearing them a new one…as much as I would like to see it…sorry. **

**It's about to get quite bad, steel yourself kiddies and don't rant at me too much coz I remind you to look at the chapter and remember my stupidly optimistic predilection for happy endings. It's just gonna get worse before it gets better. **

**And Prinnie; Egads, woman, calm down. You give me a heart attack whenever you review. **

**Those of you who are about to cry…I salute you. Read and review. **

**Chapter 18**

Cuddy stood staring out of her office window, looking over the hospital grounds. She reached up and rubbed a hand over her temple, she needed to go and tell Greg what had just happened.

No doubt the news was filtering down through the grapevine already. Namely; Wilson. She turned as the familiar sound of a door clattering open, in only a way that he could throw it, reached her ears.

He looked pissed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He raged at her. He looked livid, his eyes were wild and a muscle jumped in his jaw.

Cuddy licked hr lips as she turned to face him. She crossed her arms over her chest. He had every right to be angry, she supposed.

"My job."

"How _exactly_ does this fit into your job description again?" His voice was acid that he spat at her. She shrugged it off and explained.

"I'm doing what's best for this hospital…that is my job, at the moment, and I plan to carry on doing it. The Board gave me a choice…"

"Yeah, so I heard, and Goddamnit you picked me." His fist slammed against the desk in a motion that had her jumping. "I thought I meant a little more to you than that. You could have at least asked me, given me the chance to come up to the fucking meeting and defended us!"

"This is why I didn't." She looked at him pointedly, reining in her own temper. It had been her goddamn choice. For once in her life, she was doing something that meant something to_ her_.

"What?!"

"Because you'd have come in there, guns blazing, and proved them right about you. Again."

He stared at her hard then, his eyes searching hers, desperately looking for something that she wasn't sure she had.

"I just…can't believe that you'd throw it all away like this. Without even…" He trailed off, unable, or unwilling to finish his thought.

"I didn't throw it away…I gave it away."

He ducked his head then and inhaled deeply. His head shot up again and his eyes lanced hers. "You gave it away?"

Cuddy nodded.

He whirled away from her and his shoulders hunched. He turned back and there was such rage in his glacial eyes that she stepped back from him.

"You know I thought I knew you. Just a little bit. I thought…I thought I was one of the things that mattered enough." His jaw hardened and he looked at her like he was saying goodbye and that's when she knew.

It didn't matter what she'd done because she'd lost him anyway.

Pain lanced her and she pressed her lips together to stop the sob escaping her chest. Released from where her heart had shattered. "Well, if that's the way you feel about it…then that's the way you feel about it." She forced the words out past the lump in her throat with the last vestiges of her courage.

His eyes met hers one last time and he looked like he was trying to memorise every last detail of her, to look back on. She straightened and met his gaze.

"I don't know you at all, do I?" His voice sounded hollow like the echo in a rotting log.

She shrugged and smiled shakily. "I guess not."

"Goodbye, Lisa." He turned and walked away from her. The door shut quietly behind him but it sounded like a thunderclap in her ears.

She walked steadily over to the coat stand and removed her jacket. She slung it on and snatched up her bag. She looked over at the unfolded boxes slouched beside the sofa and felt…nothing.

It didn't seem to matter anymore.

She switched off the light in her office, even though it wasn't even lunch time. She looked down at the paper in her hand from Michigan and bit her lip. She shook the thoughts from her head and stuffed the paper into her briefcase.

She was going home.

Finally, she was going home.

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**_Two Days Later_**

House sat at his piano and thudded his fingers down on the keys drunkenly. He smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly at himself. This was becoming a habit.

The woman in his life leaves him and he drinks himself into oblivion.

Except for, this time, oblivion just wasn't coming. Even in his drunken stupor, he still saw her face, smelled her perfume, felt her hand on his shoulder…the list went on. She seemed to be soaked into every inch of his brain. Deeper and more indelibly than the alcohol ever could.

God, he felt sick.

He wasn't sure it was al together to do with the second…no, third bottle of whisky that he'd drunk, but he was willing to bet that it had a fair amount to do with it.

Either that or it could be the great gaping hole in his chest where she had ripped his heart out of his ribcage and stomped all over it in those sexy Prada heels of hers.

What was the film? _The Devil Wears Prada_. That was it.

House sighed and plonked away at the keyboard dispassionately. She wasn't the devil, he didn't really blame her for picking her job over him. She'd worked all her life for it, she wasn't going to let it go for a schmuck like him. Lisa Cuddy, Dean of Medicine, fantastic cook, unbelievable lover, slightly emotionally retarded (but hey, isn't everybody) and quite probably the love of his life.

His head swung around at a sound he didn't immediately recognise.

There it was again. He frowned at the door.

"Go away!" He yelled, but it came out more of a croak.

"House, I know you're in there! Open the door!"

House frowned at the familiar voice. He lurched to his feet and tottered to the side before regaining his balance. Where had that damn leg brace gone?

He'd seen the buggering thing yesterday…or had it been the day before?

"House, it smells like you died in there, hurry up, your neighbour looks like she's about to set her pet rat on me." The voice echoed through the door and House scowled as he tried to coordinate one leg in front of the other. "Sorry, Chihuahua, I stand disgusted."

House eventually managed to get the door open and turned the full power of his House-vision on her. She blinked up at him and wrinkled her nose.

"Eeew, you look as bad as you smell, and that's saying something." She swept past him into the apartment and gingerly picked her way towards the kitchen.

"What do you want, Karen?" House grumbled as he shuffled after her.

"Me? What do I want? Well, what I really want is to call the CDC in here, damn, what is _that_?"

"Did Wilson send you?" House scrubbed a hand over his face, knowing the physiotherapist well enough to know she wasn't just going to go away if he ignored her.

"Good God no. our resident Oncologist isn't speaking to you, and I gotta tell ye, that's a hell of a boast to get that guy not to like you."

"We all have our little talents." House demurred and wondered at the fastest way to get her out of here. He just wanted to have liver failure in peace, thank you very much. "Why is he not speaking to me?"

Karen was hauling things out of the sink and dumping them to the side on the counter. She shoved a semi-stale pizza crust through the bars of Steve's cage and ticked the rat affectionately on the head before returning to demolishing his carefully laid pile of mess.

"Well, I would have thought that was fairly obvious." Karen muttered as she stopped the plug hole with the plug and turned on the cold tap full force.

House winced at the sound of rushing water, damn, he was getting sober again. Time for more whisky.

"Really? Well, explain it to me, I'm a little slow this morning." House decided to humour her as he searched for more alcohol.

"This afternoon, and it's fairly simple, even for you, oh socially retarded one." Sarcasm dripped from every syllable as she spoke. "I f someone does something nice for you then you're supposed to thank them, not yell at them and then leave them." Karen said as if explaining to a small child as she filled the coffee pot with a fresh filter and switched it on to percolate.

"What are you talking about? I wouldn't call choosing your job over your lover, a 'nice thing'."

"Huh?" Karen frowned at him.

"That's what she did. The board gave her a choice and she picked me instead of her, Wilson's words exactly. How was I supposed to take it?" House demanded stepping closer to Karen.

Looking back, House would have never made the mistake of stepping closer to the violent little thing that was Karen, if he'd been sober. However, he had spent the last two days getting as _un_-sober as possible. He had barely time to yelp as her hand grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm up behind his back in a hold usually used by the police.

House was forced forward over the sink as she stepped nimbly aside and stuffed his head into the frigid water there. She shook him back and forth as he struggled slightly and then yanked him back out again.

He staggered backwards and fell into the chair that was thankfully behind him. He gasped like a landed fish as he regained his breath.

A cup of coffee was shoved into his hand and then pushed towards his mouth. "You idiot!" Karen yelled at him and had him wincing. "Well, don't just sit there gaping at me, drink the damn stuff."

She turned away and then turned back with a look of incredulity on her face. "I can't believe you, this woman loves you and you still think the worst of her you…you…God! There isn't even a word for that kind of stupid."

House swallowed the scalding coffee and quickly drank more as she looked like she was about to force it down his throat . "What are you talking about?" He asked eventually shoring up enough courage.

"Cuddy did choose you, idiot-face, but not in the way you think. The board gave her a choice between her job and yours and do you know what she did?"

House sat, stunned, having a sinking notion that he did now know what she had done. "She didn't…she wouldn't…"

"She did, and she has. She resigned so that you would still have your job, ye great lummox!"

"But why…?" House drank more coffee, he needed to be a hell of a lot more sober for this conversation than he currently was.

"Because she loves you, God knows why, but I suppose if they can put a man on the moon they can put a woman on you." Karen looked ready to dunk him in the sink again, but maybe not pull him out this time.

House sat and finished the coffee. "I need to go and see her. Is she still at the hospital?"

Karen blinked at him as if something dawned on her. "Oh shit, no. No, she didn't even keep her two weeks notice. House, she got another job offer in Michigan. Effective immediately. She's leaving today, her flight's in an hour."

House bolted from his chair.

She was not getting on that flight!


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Okay, I'm in actual serious pain now, doped up on Neurofen and hot chocolates but this scene has been in my head for MONTHS so here we are. Y'all are seriously gonna hate me…the trials of being a writer. **

**Is the human wrist supposed to make a CRRRIIIkkkkkkaCK!! Sound when you move it? **

**I think not, so tipey, tipey owee, owee I'm gonna do it anyway. **

**Okay, comments; **

**House's phoenix – I don't know what you're on and I have very little idea of what you meant, but if it's numbing can I have some for my hand?**

**Jackie c2 – I think that 'Idiot-face' is probably the worst insult I've ever come up with but it did seem to fit. Wilson just didn't seem to be the right guy to beat House out of his funk, so Karen took great pleasure in it. **

**Eac-dudette – you may hate cliff –hangers but they make for good writing so there you are. **

**Prinnie – have we taken our medication today dearie? You just make me giggle with your rants, but I can understand, I am endeavouring to write these updates as quickly as my handicap will allow, god I'm actually afraid to post this because I just KNOW you're gonna fly off the handle at me for what I'm about to do…ah well. I like living dangerously. **

**I try to end on a note of hope. House isn't beaten that easily. **

**Read and review coz I like it. **

**Chapter 19**

"Jesus, does this car _have_ a fifth gear?" House grumbled as his head pounded. He drank more of his coffee and rubbed a hand through his wet hair. Not from the sink that Karen had shoved him into, but the shower that had followed as he tried to barrel his way out the door straight to the airport. "I can't believe you made me stop to take a shower."

Karen looked at him coolly, driving without looking and House swallowed a nervous chastisement, she seemed to take great pleasure in tormenting him. Best not to give her an excuse. "I can't believe that you wanted to leave the house without taking one. do you have any idea how bad you smelled. She would definitely get on the plane if she saw you like that, but if you want speed…you got it."

Karen let a small wicked smile curl her lips as she shifted the ancient jaguar up a gear. The engine, which definitely didn't sound as old as the ancient beast looked, roared under the hood as the car easily tripled its speed in a matter of seconds.

House gripped the leather seat under him and prayed that he would not only make it to the airport on time, but that he would survive the trip there.

Karen looked in the mirror with a snort of disgust as police sirens sounded behind them. House swore viciously, they would never get there in time now.

He looked up to see Karen looking at him while steering one handed.

"Please watch the road." He begged.

"Do you love her?"

"What?" She was bringing this up _now?_

"Do you love her, coz I'm not about to break the law for you if you ain't gonna follow her to the ends of the freaking earth."

House stared at her, wondering if she was serious. "She's only going to Michigan."

"There's a difference? Tell me, do you love her?"

"Yeah."

Karen smiled as she pulled a cigarette from her jacket pocket and took both hands off the wheel to light it. She smirked at his look of panic. "All righty then." Her foot slammed into the accelerator and the car roared forward again.

House smiled too as the sirens wailed behind them. Karen really was an expert driver as she weaved in and out of cars that were moving so slowly in comparison that they appeared to be stopping.

He was going to make it.

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Lisa sat amidst the bustle of the airport terminal in a sort of daze. Her carry-on bag was slumped in the empty, unbelievably uncomfortable, seat next to her and her jacket was folded over her lap.

She was impeccably dressed as usual. A tailored pant suit in a deep burgundy was off set by the ivory of her starched shirt and the luminescence of the rope of pearls at her throat.

Her blue eyes flickered over the screens high above her as she reassured herself of her departure time. She blinked when she realised that it was nearly time to board.

Where had the last half hour gone?

Lisa rose to her feet as the tannoy announced the official boarding call. A man in a sharp suit clashed with her as she moved to the gate, he apologised immediately.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there. Are you al right?"

Lisa looked up at him and smiled absently as she nodded. She looked him over subtly, he was perhaps a few years younger than her 38 and handsome with it. He had charmingly tousled blonde hair and kind green eyes.

Lisa felt nothing.

Not even a flicker of interest in the nice young stud who was obviously interested in her judging by the way he angled his body towards her and smiled engagingly.

God, she missed Greg.

"Lisa."

Lisa whirled as her lips parted. It was as if her thoughts had conjured him. "Greg!" she heaved in a lungful of air and ignored the other man as she turned to her lover.

Ex-lover.

She looked him over, searching for something to say. "You look like hell." She blurted and wanted to swallow the words as soon as she said them.

It was true though, his eyes were blood shot, his skin looked pale and she would bet her non-existent pay-cheque that he hadn't eaten anything in the last forty-eight hours.

He laughed harshly and stepped closer to her. He reached out and ran a finger over her cheek reverently.

She pulled away from his touch. She couldn't handle it. Not now.

"Why are you here, Greg?" She had to know.

"To convince you that you're making a mistake in leaving the hospital." He answered immediately.

She snorted and pressed her lips together to prevent herself from saying something she would regret. She forced herself to look at him again. She tilted her head and stepped so close to him that her jacket brushed his legs. "Is that all?"

"No." he reached out and brushed stray curl behind her ear. "I think that you're making a mistake in leaving me too."

Her eyes dropped until he lifted her chin with his finger and stared deep into her eyes. "Why are you going to Michigan?"

"I have a job there. I want to be a real doctor again. Believe it or not, kissing ass for donors gets pretty boring after a while."

"So, take more clinic hours at Princeton-Plainsboro, open your own practice…hell, go back to the board and demand your job back, but don't leave because of something stupid I said. You know I didn't mean it." He pleaded with her.

She rested her hand over his as he stroked her jaw and looked him directly in the eye. "You always mean it, Greg. That's what's so damn frustrating and so damn brilliant about you…but I can't do it anymore. It's not enough. I, quite literally, gave you everything I had and what can you give me in return?"

He looked down at her. Wanting to say it, needing to say it, but the words wouldn't come. He clenched his jaw, cursing himself for being so damn clammed up.

She touched his cheek as the tannoy insisted that all passengers board for the flight to Detroit. "You know, it's okay. It's all right, I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to this but now I have to go and I'm truly sorry if that hurts you."

And she was, he could see it in her eyes.

The tannoy announced it's last cal for the four thirty flight to Detroit.

Lisa shut her eyes against the pain of leaving him and then forced them open to see him one last time.

With a kind of desperation she made a wordless sound and tugged his head down to hers. Their lips met for what might be the last time and she poured herself into the kiss as he held her close with equal feeling.

Finally, she wrenched herself away and ran her hand down his handsome face, committing it to memory.

"Greg, I…" She felt tears burn her eyes and blinked them back. She wouldn't part like this, better to leave it unsaid.

She swallowed convulsively. "Goodbye, Greg." Her voice cracked as she whirled and strode away to the gate.

She didn't look back as she handed her ticket to the stewardess. Ignored the way the young woman looked at the quite obviously heart-broken Lisa and then over her shoulder to the anguished Greg. Took her ticket back and then forced herself down the long corridor to the plane.

She found her seat on autopilot. As chance would have it, next to the charming young gentleman who had bumped into her earlier.

She tossed her back up into the over head compartment and then slumped into her seat, suddenly exhausted. She stared out the window of the plane and let the tears fall silently down her face, uncaring of how her make-up ran with them.

"Hey, are you all right?" Blondie asked.

Lisa turned to him and stared at him with empty eyes before answering. "No, I don't think so."

"Hey," he said gently with a smile, obviously trying to help the damsel in distress. "It'll be okay." He handed her a small pressed handkerchief.

Lisa laughed abruptly, it struck her as slightly absurd, but there was no humour in the sound. "No. I don't think it will be." She turned to look back out the window. "Not ever."

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House staggered through the airport without seeing. He was pretty sure that he must have walked into a hundred people, he just didn't care.

He got out to the car lot and stared blindly about for Karen, not really caring if she was there or not.

He found a policeman waiting for him next to Karen's beat up old Jag.

"Excuse me, sir, are you Dr Gregory House?"

House looked at the man and suddenly felt like doing him bodily harm. He restrained himself. "Yeah."

"We have to ask that you take this car home with you as its owner has been arrested."

House frowned, revising his opinion on beating the shit out of the smug young officer. "Why?"

"She was seen to be driving nearly three times the speed limit."

"Oh." House muttered and moved to take the keys from the officer. "Does she need bail?"

"I don't know. I'm sure she'll call you if she does. Have a nice day."

House glared at the man so intensely that he staggered back.

"Too fucking late." He snapped as he lounged into the car and slammed the door. He gunned the snarling engine and screamed for the car lot.

His long fingers flexed on the wheel as thought swirled in his head.

He was so stupid. Three little words. Three single syllable words and she would have stayed with him. He slammed his fist against the wheel as anger roiled through him.

Not at her, _he_ was the stupid one.

He snarled to himself as he wove through traffic.

He had to get her back. Letting go of Stacy had nearly killed him, but then, he'd never tried to get her back. He would get Lisa back.

Failure was not an option.

House snarled again as he tried to think of something, anything, that would convince her to come back to him.

He started in surprise as he found himself cruising past her house. Well, her old house. A 'for sale' sign was posted in the yard and he noticed an estate agent exiting with a young couple.

An idea exploded in his head and he slammed on the breaks. He pulled into the side of the road and hauled himself out of the car. The estate agent waved off the young couple and turned, an expression of trepidation on her face as she saw him walking purposefully towards her.

"Hey," he aimed for friendly but had a feeling he'd missed. He nodded to the house. "How much?"

The young woman straightened her glasses and frowned slightly. "Excuse me?"

"How much for the house?" He pointed in case she didn't quite know what house they were talking about.

"Oh." She said in a small voice and then rattled off an astronomical figure. It didn't matter.

"I'll take it."

The estate agent looked like she was about to pass out. "But you haven't even seen it."

"Sure I have, I fell in love in that house and it'll make the perfect wedding present for my wife. So…I'll take it."

Estate agent's mouth fell open and then clicked shut. "Seriously?"

He nodded. "Well, she doesn't know we're getting married yet, but I'm pretty damn sure I can talk her round. I need it ready in as soon as is super-humanly possible, can you do that?"

"But, the papers, it takes…"

"Come on." House put on his most charming ingratiating smile. "She's the love of my life. Super-human?"

Estate Agent heaved a sigh and pulled out her cell phone. "My boss is going to have my ass…" She shook her head with a slightly self-deprecating smile.

"Thank you!" House hugged her and whirled her off the ground.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's only for the commission…yeah, Joey? I need a rush job on some paper work…" He let her voice trail off as she spoke to whoever the hell Joey was.

He smiled as he looked at the house that would be theirs. Okay, first phase; cleared, step two; to the jewellers, he needed a fabulous rock to put on her finger.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Okay, kiddies, winding up now and the hand does appear to be getting better (she said tentatively at the splinted appendage). **

**But anyway…you wanted the board to have a bollocking, so here we are. **

**As for the cat bit, I have long and involved conversations with my Siamese/tabby cross and she'd quite the eloquent conversationalist, so don't knock it. Nobody gives advice like a cat and I stand by that. **

**I think it's the way that they ignore you. You're nobody until you've been ignored by a cat. **

**Yeah…so there. **

**Okay, read and review coz you love me. **

**Chapter 20**

Brenda, head nurse in the clinic, poked her head cautiously out of the nurse's station and looked quickly down both corridors before carefully shuffling out into the main walkway that was eerily quiet.

The corridor usually bustled with activity at this time of day, but the residents and staff of PPTH had collectively decided, in the interests of their own personal safety, to get the hell out of dodge.

Brenda walked as quietly as possible along the corridor, making for the relative safety of a private patient room.

This was ridiculous. They should just re-hire Dr Cuddy and be done with it. Brenda wasn't privy to the exact details, but rumour had it that Cuddy's resignation had pretty much guaranteed Dr House immunity from nearly any disciplinary action that the board could come up with.

Rumour also had it, that the reason for Dr Cuddy's resignation was that she was in a relationship with Dr House. Brenda didn't really see what the hullabaloo was about, any nurse in the whole hospital could have told the board that.

Or patient.

Hell, someone walking past outside would have picked up on it.

And judging by the way Dr House had been rampaging through the hospital like a man with one hell of a jonesing for vengeance…Brenda would have to agree with the general consensus that Dr Cuddy needed to come back and she needed to come back right _now_!

Brenda scowled as she tried to blend as seamlessly as possible with the white wall behind her. Not an easy task in pink hospital scrubs, but she was doing an okay job. She poked her head around the corner, just to make sure that he wasn't lurking in the shadows, and then cautiously sidled around.

"Hey."

"AACK!" Brenda squeaked as she leapt into the air and whirled in a single motion to see Dr House's unkempt frame lounging casually against the wall. She pressed herself back against the wall as he regarded her like a fox in a henhouse. "Dr House, I, uh…didn't see you there." Brenda swallowed nervously and really hoped that he hadn't brought his pet rat to work again.

"I think that's what you were aiming for, but don't worry, you're not my chosen victim today." He almost sounded civil as he jerked his chin towards the offices behind her. "The board in session already?"

Brenda's eyes widened in trepidation. She nodded slowly and really hoped that this didn't mean what she thought it meant.

"Good, good. I think I'll go in for a little chat."

Brenda opened her mouth to object and then clamped it shut again as her survival instinct kicked in.

He pushed himself off the wall and ambled down towards the board meeting, which was obscured behind the blinds that had been reeled shut. As if they could keep Dr House out somehow.

Brenda shook her head, not unless they were lined with land mines and even then it wouldn't be a sure thing.

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Pendle addressed the board at large. "We can't let this go on. The man's a menace."

"So let's revoke the contract that we signed for Cuddy, I'm sure we can find a legal loophole." Sanchez pointed out as Wilson snorted.

"Do you have any idea what he'll do to you if you try that?" The oncologist asked them almost calmly. Wilson was House's best friend and even he hadn't gone unscathed this last week.

"We cannot be held hostage in our own hospital!" Weldon argued.

Wilson sat forward in his chair. "So give him what he wants. You know you were out of line to try and mess with the personal relationships of two of your best doctors and now it's come back to bite you in the ass. Why are you so damn surprised?"

"Oh, and I suppose we were just supposed to let them get together and drag this hospitals' reputation through the mud? I suppose you have an answer?" Sanchez sneered. He had never liked Cuddy and the feeling had been entirely mutual.

"Yeah, beg Cuddy to come back and pray that she takes you up on your offer." Wilson said with finality.

"Well, gentlemen, I have to say that I agree entirely with Jimmy's idea."

The board turned as one, with expressions of varying degrees of horror plastered across their faces.

"You can't come in here!" Sanchez protested, turning slightly purple in his ire.

House arched a brow as he lounged casually against the wall. "Really? Then I appear to have defied the laws of physics coz, here I am." House smirked in as patronising a manner as he could muster.

"What do you want, Dr House?" Pendle asked carefully, the man looked slightly unhinged and security was quite a ways down the hallway.

"I would have thought that obvious." House grinned that same mad grin as he ambled along the table with the express purpose of making Sanchez flinch. "I want Cuddy back here. Now." He said it pleasantly enough but the board were under no illusions as to his venom towards them.

"Or what?" Sanchez sneered.

House whirled him and slammed his palms against the table with enough force to make the solid mahogany shudder under his onslaught. "Or everything I've done up until now will seem like a walk in the park, you pathetic little shit. You can fire me if you want, I don't really care, but I warn you that I do still have enough of a reputation left in the medical world to make Princeton-Plainsboro look like Auschwitz in all those back logged papers that you've been so eager for me to write up."

House straightened, leaving Sanchez trembling. Including the entire board in his malevolent grin, House offered his last deal.

"So, what are you waiting for? Write up another contract." He demanded.

"Dr House, we can't just…"

House glowered at Pendle, he seemed to be one of the ringleaders in this outfit. "Sure you can, just call up one of your legal eagles down in that little room marked 'legal office' and get them to write up another contract for her lickety-split."

He sauntered towards the door. "I'll give you an hour before I send my first paper to the New York Times, you knew that they had me on speed dial, right?" He smirked at them and left.

Pendle looked at the board. Sanchez was fuming but everyone else was in varying states of navel inspection. Except for Wilson, who appeared to have enjoyed himself immensely.

"Shall we put it to a vote?" Pendle asked somewhat desperately.

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Lisa groaned as she staggered out of her tiny bathroom in her new house. She sat gingerly on her new couch and curled into the smallest shape she could manage.

It was time to face facts.

It wasn't food poisoning, it wasn't stomach flu and it definitely wasn't a twenty-four hour bug.

She was around ninety-eight percent sure that she was pregnant.

At any other time in her life, this news would have been cause for celebration, and she was happy about it. It was just difficult to feel happy about anything when you felt like you'd left your heart three states away.

Lisa huffed at herself as she realised she wanted to cry again. She pressed her hands to her eyes and willed away the raging sea of hormones that seemed intent on breaking out through her tear ducts.

"Oh, Greg, you bastard." She let her head fall back against the leather of the couch and stifled another wave of sadness as it washed over her. She jumped as Shanks leaped onto her lap and meowed questioningly. "No, not you, that idiot of a man that I left in New Jersey." She stroked the cat's ears affectionately as the big raggedy tomcat purred.

She had picked him up in the local animal shelter, not wanting to be completely alone anymore in the wilds of rural Michigan. He was battered, thoroughly anti-social, street wise and so scarred his face looked like a fist of hairy knuckles.

He reminded her of Greg a little.

Not the hairy knuckles bit, but their personalities were surprisingly alike.

Lisa decided that she could ignore the single tear that tracked down her cheek as she ruffled Shanks' fur. He settled across her chest and buried his face in her neck as his purr thundered through her.

His slightly crooked tail swished through the air as he patiently let her dampen his fur with her tears. Lisa held her cat closer and resisted the urge to outright bawl.

"Oh, Shanks, I'll have to tell him that I'm pregnant." She hiccupped.

"Mrur." Said Shanks.

"I know, it'll be…difficult but he does deserve to know." Lisa ran her fingers through Shanks' fur, comforted by the silky sensation and the feeling of a little heart beating close to hers. Well, two little hearts now.

"Mroow." Shanks agreed whole heartedly and butted his head against her fingers for more attention. Just because she was having an emotional epiphany was no reason to stop with the ear-scratching.

"I could just write him a letter. That might not be so difficult." Lisa murmured almost to herself.

"Mrrummmmm." Shanks growled his disapproval at the idea.

"Oh, and I suppose you wanted to know every ball of fluff that you ever fathered, hmm?" Lisa stopped as she realised, not only was she talking to her cat like some clichéd spinster, but that her cat appeared to be answering.

"Mrumff." Shanks huffed.

"Well, I'd better be absolutely sure before I go doing anything." She said with what might have passed for gusto. "I'll get a test at the drug store, sound like a plan?" She turfed Shanks delicately off her lap and then shrugged on her coat and gloves, it was cold outside already.

Shanks followed her to the door as if to make sure that she was actually going. He sat primly and glared at her when she looked like she was about to change her mind.

"Right, so, pregnancy tests, milk, comfort food…anything else?" Lisa stooped and scratched his chin one last time as she gathered up her car keys.

"Mraah!" Shouted Shanks.

"Right, of course, Kitty-kibble." She grinned down at him and then threw open the front door before she could change her mind.

Her eyes widened at the figure on the other side, wrapped in a long coat and red scarf.

"Greg!" Lisa stuttered in surprise and Shanks poked his head around her leg to inspect the stranger.

The tattered moggy moved out of the way just in time to avoid his housemate from falling on him as her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Okay kiddies, here I am with another update. Woo! Uuum…I'm not sure how long this is going to go on for, I think I'm near the end, maybe another three or four chapters plus epilogue…perhaps. **

**There are still a few loose ends to tie up, et cetera. **

**This may be slightly out of character for them, but this is the way that it felt right to do for the tone of the story. I tried a bunch of other stuff but this fit. So if ye don't like it…ah well, nothing I can do about it.**

**WARNING!!!! ADULT CONTENT, THAT MEANS SMUT!!!!!!**

**And if ye missed that, yer just plain stoooopid. **

**Read and review coz you think I'm fabby and you're fabby too. **

**Kisses mwah! **

**Chapter 21**

Greg looked down at the scrap of paper in his hand and shifted nervously from foot to foot as he double checked and then checked again that this was the right address. He looked at the old ranch house and smiled, it did seem more her somehow.

God, what was he doing? He'd just jumped on a plane from Newark airport and taken the quickest flight to Detroit, from there he'd rented a car at an exorbitant price and forced himself to drive exactly on the speed limit all the way here, wherever here really was, and now he was having an attack of the nerves.

He paced back and forth on the porch as he tried to psyche himself up for it.

"Just tell her you love her you big idiot and then it'll be fine…right?" He looked over the house again and fought the urge to bolt. He'd spent the last week terrifying the board in order to get what he wanted. He patted his pocket, double checking that the little all important velvet box was still nestled safely inside and then the envelope in his other pocket with the new contract for her job. The house was his surprise for her.

He steeled himself and hardened his jaw. This was what he wanted. He just needed to reach out and take it.

He sucked in a breath of the frigid Michigan air and raised his fist to knock on the door. He jumped slightly as it opened before his gloved knuckles could make contact with the wood.

His shocked expression disappeared instantly as a wide smile spread across his face. His heart staggered slightly at the sight of her and he had to hold himself back from just grabbing hood of her and never letting go.

He heaved in another lungful of air, realising that he'd forgotten to breathe and let his eyes devour every inch of her.

"Greg!" She was obviously surprised to see him as her eyes widened and she tottered slightly to the side. Her gloved hand slipped from the door handle and he stared in horror as her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped towards the floor.

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Lisa groaned as she rolled to her side. Her head was killing her. She opened her eyes, unsure of exactly how she had gotten onto her bed and started in surprise as a familiar handsome face loomed over hers.

She blinked up at Greg, momentarily at a loss for words as she realised that he had taken the liberty of carrying her upstairs, removing her shoes and jacket and quite effectively tucking her into bed.

She moved to push herself up and he grunted as his hand snaked over her waist and held her down.

"Probably better that you don't get up too quick. I don't think you've ever fainted before, at least not in my presence, are you okay?" He scrutinised her carefully as he interrogated her.

A frown settled over her features as she glared at him, almost like old times. "Why are you here?"

Greg tilted his head and sucked in a breath through his teeth as he considered how to answer. "Very complicated question that, there isn't really just one answer." He grinned at her as he spoke and she resigned herself to lying beside him for the moment.

"Okay, well why don't you start with what's most important then?" She offered, really feeling that this was quite a surreal conversation. She was torn between shoving him right out of her bed and her house so she could continue to lick her wounds and letting him stay, hearing him out and maybe forgiving him if he said the right things.

"Good idea." Greg mused as he pulled her closer to him, not wanting even the few inches between them anymore. He was silent as he considered how to go on.

"Greg, while I'm still relatively young." Lisa said wearily, trying very hard not to just throw herself at him and let him off the hook.

"Right, you see, I have a problem."

"Just one?" She asked dryly.

"They're all connected. You see, I have this friend, who's got a street rep for being a big bad bastard that doesn't care about anyone. You know, the kind of guy that doesn't open up emotionally, who doesn't trek across three states to find the woman he loves and tell her that he's so sorry for being a bigger ass than usual and beg her to forgive him." Greg sighed as he propped himself up on his elbow and looked truly concerned by his 'problem'. Lisa, just lay stunned beneath him as he spoke again.

"Not the type of guy that threatens the hospital board with smearing their reputation irreparably so that they can give said same woman her job back that she loves, and not really the type of guy to lie in the same bed with that same woman and tell her all of this without choking because he's actually really terrified that she doesn't love him anymore and won't have enough pity in her to put him out of his misery and marry him. Do you see the dilemma?"

He looked at her then and Lisa blinked furiously against the raging sea of hormones that seemed intent of breaking into the world through her tear ducts. She pressed her lips together and inhaled deeply as she tried to formulate a proper coherent response.

"Why pity?" She asked instead.

"Huh?" He trailed a finger in swirling patterns on her shoulder as he held his breath, waiting for her response.

"Why would you rely on pity to get a woman that loves you to marry you?"

He smiled then. "Oh,_ I_ wouldn't, but my friend would. I know you love me."

She arched a brow at him. "You're very confidant that I'm not still mad at you." She pointed out.

He shrugged and wrapped an arm around her tighter. "Oh, I still think you're pissed heaps at me, but I do think that you maybe love me more." He paused then as his eyes searched hers for a moment. "I am sorry, I…assumed the worst when I was told that the board was firing someone and that you'd picked me. I should have trusted you and I should have given you the chance." He heaved in another breath and smiled shakily at her. "Forgive me? Love me? Marry me?" He reached somewhat awkwardly into his pocket and pulled out the small velvet box with the ring in it.

She stared in the box, worryingly silent and then looked back to him.

"Well?"

She leant up on her elbow so that her face was closer to his and then smiled slyly. "Hmm, I think I want to see how big a rock you bought." She teased, her eyes twinkling.

"Oh, come on, it's a good deal. Marriage, lots of sex and lots of babies. You'll love it." He assured her, grinning back as he opened the box and slipped the ring onto her finger. A white gold ring encrusted with deep purplish sapphires alternated with diamonds sunken into the metal of the ring.

She let him push the ring on her finger and continued to pretend to still think. "Hmm, I don't know, we've already done two of those things, why should I bother getting married?"

Greg froze in the act of moving to kiss her into silence. "Huh?"

She looked at him expectantly. "I have symptoms other than fainting."

"Oh? What like? I'm a diagnostician, you know."

She smiled brightly. "I know. My other symptoms include, mood swings, being violently ill in the mornings and having this uncanny sensation of a heartbeat below mine."

Greg's eyes dropped to her belly and then snapped back to her gaze. "You're sure?" He had a look of stunned happiness on his face.

"Almost certain, I was on my way for a test when you made your impromptu entrance."

His grin widened. "Hah! My trump card, now you'll have to marry me, you carry the heir to the House fortune." He kissed her soundly and she made a muffled sound under his lips as she kissed him back with a smile.

God, she had missed him. Missed the sound of his voice, the weight and warmth of him in her bed, his sarcastic comments, his cynical view on life…missed loving him.

He rolled her beneath him with a growl of approval as her hands went to work on his shirt. He broke off when he realised he still hadn't gotten his answer. "So, come on woman, I need to know. Marriage?"

She grinned and stroked her fingers through his hair. "I suppose so."

He scoffed and nipped her neck. "Come back to New Jersey and put the board out of my misery?"

She made an unhappy sound. "If I have to."

He straightened to look her in the eye. "Love me and bear me an unruly mob of children?" He grinned rakishly.

"Hmm, I do love you, but I don't know about a mob…" She dissolved into laughter as he set about removing her clothes and persuading her. "And definitely not unruly!" She gasped between giggles as he tickled her ruthlessly.

"I think they will. They'll be half mine." He splayed his fingers over her now bare belly and smiled to himself.

"No. Ours." She corrected him and then tugged his head down to hers for a searing kiss. He smirked against her lips and set about peeling her jeans off. They had a whole week to make up for, good thing he was scheduled in for a few days more holiday before going back to New Jersey.

That was the last really coherent though that he had for quite some time as his fiancé tugged his shirt insistently from his shoulders and tossed it over his head.

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Greg awakened with a start as a sudden weight was applied to his chest. He blinked myopically at the ugly little face above him and realised it was Lisa's new cat planted on his solar plexus.

The cat looked imperiously down its crooked nose at Greg with its one good eye and huffed as it prodded him with one gnarled paw. "Mrah." It said.

Greg tried to remove the offending beast with one hand, but as he pushed at its chest the cat just shifted its weight. Obviously not going anywhere. "Go away." He tried to whisper to it. Lisa still slept on blissfully unaware at his side, with her arm and legs tangled around him.

"Mrah!" The cat announced again, this time more insistently.

"Shanks, stop shouting." Lisa murmured as she lifted one lazy hand and scratched the flea-magnet's ears.

Greg looked down at her and then back to the ball of mange on his chest. "You voluntarily adopted this plague magnet?" Greg asked her.

"Oh shut up, he's actually very much like you."

Greg subsided into silence as he turned back to the cat and regarded it thoughtfully. "Is this a 'love me, love my cat' thing?"

"Uh-huh. Deal with it." She rolled away from him and he grumbled. His plans for her did not include leaving the bed for quite some time. She pulled on his shirt and shivered against the chill in the old house.

"Where are you going?" He sidled over to her and pulled her back down onto the bed so that she looked up at him from her back.

"To feed Shanks. In case you hadn't noticed, he can be a persistent little bastard when he wants something and doesn't much care about the methods used to get it. Now who does that remind me of?" She smiled as she pretended to think and then rolled off the bed to disappear through the bedroom door.

"Yrah!" Shanks rejoiced and thudded onto the hardwood floor to trot out of the room after Lisa, sounding more like a galloping horse than a stealthy predator of the night. If this was Lisa's taste in pets he was suddenly very glad that she wasn't a dog person.

Greg shuffled to find his jeans and pulled them on with little difficulty. He stretched expansively as he rose to his feet and then padded after cat and woman to find food. Now that he thought about it, his stomach was making 'feed me' noises. He hadn't eaten since last night and it wasn't as if he'd been conserving his energy.

He found her standing on the flagstone floor of the kitchen, one foot on top of the other to conserve heat as she mixed up tuna and kibble for the moth-eaten animal busy twining himself around her legs like a furry slinky.

She looked fantastic with her hair all mussed, here eyes still heavy from sleep and completely naked except for his shirt. "This is a good look for you. I'm suddenly thinking that we don't have to go back to New Jersey. We could just stay here and you could be a kept woman." He grinned at her as he lent on the marble countertop with his elbows.

Lisa snorted as she lowered the bowl to the floor for the cat and then straightened to look at him with an arched eyebrow. "You couldn't stand a job in a small practice, it'd be nine to five clinic hours. You'd go insane, and I have no desire to be a kept woman." She informed him coolly.

"Aw, I don't know, it might be worth all the running noses just to come home to this every night." He grinned lecherously as he stepped over the munching cat and pulled her into his arms.

"Let's go back to bed, it's cold." She suggested.

"I'll warm you up." He grinned as he lifted her easily onto the counter. She yelped as the cold stone met the warm length of her legs.

"Cold!" She gasped and he swallowed it as his lips moved over hers. She made another muffled sound as he lifted her again and moved back towards the stairs. Her legs wrapped tightly around his hips as he ascended the stairs and tunnelled her fingers through his hair.

They tumbled back into the bed and Lisa gasped as his lips moved down over her throat to nibble at her collar bone. Her borrowed shirt was removed with a snapping pop of buttons.

She grinned up at him as her fingers attacked his jeans and shoved them down and off. Lisa moaned at the sensation of naked skin sliding against naked skin. She had missed this so much, just the feel and taste of him.

"Promise me something?" She gasped between hot kisses as he surged into her with a moan of pleasure.

"Anything." He answered unhesitant as he moved over her in a familiar rhythm.

"Never be away from me again. I missed you too much." She arched her back as he twisted his hips and smiled down at her.

"Oh no, you've got me now and I'm not going anywhere if I can help it." He kissed her softly as he spoke. "But if I have to go away, I'll come back." He assured her.

"Always?" Her nails scored his shoulders as pleasure assailed her.

He groaned as they exploded together and answered completely honestly. Like he would ever voluntarily leave her. His fabulous woman "Always." He panted against her lips and sealed the deal with a kiss.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Okay dokey kiddie-winkles! Here we are! After a belated fashion I know, but better late than never, eh?**

**Righty, I know that this scene may ring similar to the one in 'A Prank Too Far' but it popped into my head (the cereal box, hah!) and it just had to be written just the way it is. So…tough if you don't like it. **

**Again, sorry, sorry, sorry about not updating but the virus is, well, virulent and proving most difficult to get rid of, not to mention the fact that PC World are the bane of my fecking existence at the minute (long hours on a not so helpful helpline and then a completely un-supportive support line and shoes thrown at the telly whenever one of their smarmy wee adverts comes on). I have to sort of hotwire the connection to the internet so that's why it's been so long between updates and why I haven't reviewed anyone's work in the past few weeks. I haven't read House fanfiction in over a month since the technology's out to get me (I've got withdrawal shakes and everything, it's terrible). So I'm not trying to be insulting or anything I just haven't been there. **

**AAAARGH!!!!!!**

**And BTW can everyone just get off Tawny? She's was my first original character in my first fanfiction so just leave off will ye? (insert rant here). And more fanfictions of the Huddy genre are being written as we speak/type/read/ whatever including one set in Scotland!!! Kinda. Anyway they will be updated as soon as my lamentable computer allows. **

**Read and review coz I will get to them eventually. **

**Chapter 22**

Lisa shut her eyes and threw an arm over her head. She curled onto her side and willed the nausea away as her other hand rubbed her belly. Morning sickness, she decided, was not in any way fun.

She breathed shallowly through her mouth as Greg shifted behind her and made the mattress dip under his weight. Every movement seemed magnified until she felt like she was on a boat in rough seas.

Just thinking about salty air had her groaning as her stomach rebelled at such treacherous thoughts.

She felt more than saw Greg lean over her.

"Lisa, you all right?"

Lisa shut her eyes more tightly and willed herself not to throw up. "Do I look alright?" She gritted between clenched teeth.

He thought this over a moment and noted the slight green tinge to her complexion. "Do you want anything?"

"You not moving would be good." She said between slow breaths.

Greg moved to the edge of the bed and bent to rummage for his jeans, or any garment of clothing. In the past week he had grown used to the morning routine of her throwing up, some days were better than others and this was evidently a bad day.

"I'll go downstairs and get you some crackers. They're supposed to help. Some tea as well, do you want tea?"

"Greg!" She snapped. "I know you're just trying to help but if you don't shut up and/or leave I'm going to have to kill you." She snatched a pillow and pulled it down over her head with another small sounding moan.

Greg decided that clothes were perhaps not essential and rose slowly from the bed, careful not to disturb her more than necessary. Apparently, this was a very bad day.

He stretched and yawned with a pop of his jawbones as he slouched down the stairs, ignoring the cold of the house. The house was constantly cold.

Shanks yowled plaintively as he entered the kitchen and looked up at him hopefully as he appeared to wander in the direction of the kibble sack.

"Alright, fine. Here." Greg shook some kibble into the bowl and winced in sympathy as Shanks fell on the food with a ferocity that was only matched by his toying with his catnip mouse. Greg snatched his own breakfast in the form of some Lucky Charms cereal, eaten straight from the box.

He munched happily between searching cupboards for the damn crackers. He'd seen them yesterday now where the hell were they?

Greg opened the fridge and perused the inside, not that they really needed a fridge in the arctic house, but Lisa was a creature of habit. He murmured a sound of triumph as he found the crackers and plucked them from their nest between the butter and some broccoli.

He slapped the door shut and promptly leaped out of his skin at the sound of a high pitched feminine shriek of alarm.

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Lisa edged carefully to the side of the bed and searched blindly with her fingers for something to wear. She snagged on the silky fabric of her robe and carefully pulled it on without moving one muscle more than was absolutely necessary.

She carefully lowered her legs over the side of the bed and then sidled closer to the window so that she could throw open the latch and push it open. Frigid morning air gusted in and the cold had the desired effect of distracting her from the urge to toss her cookies.

Breathing deeply, eyes still closed, Lisa edged to the window until she could lean on the sill and just breathe. The air was frozen and she was half convinced that icicles were forming in her lungs, but hey, at least she wasn't barfing.

Her eyes snapped open at the woman's scream that issued from down stairs.

Nausea forgotten, Lisa whirled and pulled her robe more tightly around her as she ran down the stairs. She skidded to a halt in the doorway of the kitchen and gaped at the scene before her.

Her mother stood facing off to Greg, armed with an egg whisk pointed squarely at his chest and a look of hell fire in her eyes. Greg stood leaning against the counter, completely naked except for a strategically held cereal box.

Laughter bubbled unbidden up Lisa's throat and she put a hand over her mouth to stop it as Greg glared at her.

"If you laugh I'll never speak to you again." He threatened as her mother whirled to see her.

"Lisa, you know this man?"

Lisa straightened her face with an effort even as a grin insistently kicked at her lips and moved to push the whisk away from Greg's chest. "Yeah, you could say that." Laughter coloured her voice and Greg's scowl deepened. He thrust a packet of crackers at her and tightened his grip on the cereal box.

"Glad you're feeling better, _honey_." He gritted and Lisa tried in vain not to grin at him. She sidled in front of him so that he appeared at least a little more decently attired and turned to her mother.

"Momma, this is Greg House. Greg this is Alma Cuddy." Lisa made quick introductions before her face cracked from holding back the tide of mirth that was building in her.

Alma's eyes narrowed slightly before she extended a hand towards Greg. "Nice to meet you. You mind telling me what the hell you're doing naked in my daughter's kitchen?"

Greg reached around Lisa and shook the hand as gracefully as he could muster. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." Greg replied smoothly. "I was looking for crackers, you know, for morning sickness." Greg grinned wickedly as the smile vanished from Lisa's face and she glared at him accusingly. He shrugged and dropped his second bombshell. "Don't fret, honey, I'm just trying to be a good fiancé." He winked down at her and left her to the tender mercies of Alma Cuddy as he sidled out of the door with as much dignity as a man in a cereal box can muster.

Lisa watched in horror as Greg shimmied out of the kitchen and then looked back to her mother who stood hands on her hips, foot tapping ominously. Lisa was at a complete loss. She held out the packet in her hand.

"Cracker?"

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Greg retreated up the stairs and pulled on his clothes post haste. Well, that was a story for the kids he was sure. He stopped as a voice sounded from under the pile of his clothes on the chair in the bedroom. He tossed them hurriedly out of the way as he raked for his cell phone.

"_Listen to the sound of my voice and kill the person holding the phone! Listen to the sound of my voice and kill the person holding the phone!" _

He snatched up the phone as it repeated itself for the third time and pressed it to his ear. "House." He snapped by way of greeting as he wriggled his way into a cream turtle neck. He listened with half an ear to the voice on the other end as he rummaged under the bed and retrieved his leg brace with a grin and a clank.

"So it's all good then?" He said to clarify. The voice answered in the affirmative and a slow smile spread across Greg's face. Albeit a crafty smile, but it was a smile nonetheless. He resisted the urge to give an evil cackle as he sorted out the final details. "Right, my man will be around in about…half an hour to check everything and if it passes his inspection you guys are good to go…good. Bye."

House held the phone away from his ear as he scrolled down the meagre numbers that the phone's extensive memory held. He caught his tongue between his teeth as he punched in the number that he wanted and then pressed the phone to his ear again as he listened to the rings on the other end.

"_What do you want now?" _Wilson said by way of greeting and House grinned.

"The adjustments are finished, I need you to go around and check that everything's good before I bring her home."

Wilson made a disgusted sound. _"You have it so bad it's not even funny anymore." _

House shrugged even though his friend wouldn't see. "Will you go round then? The decorators are waiting for you to give it the final okay." House prodded not interested in anything else but getting what he wanted.

So he was selfish, sue him.

"_Fine." _Wilson gusted on a note of long sufferance and hung up without a further word.

House rubbed his hands together as the cold registered, he reached out and shut the window with a shiver and then rose to go down stairs and meet the mother in-law. He repressed a shudder but he realised that if he wanted to sleep anywhere near his woman in the foreseeable future he had better get down there and play the knight in shining armour.

House slunk carefully down the stairs and kept a watchful eye out for any other impromptu relatives that might pounce on him. He made it safely to the kitchen and grinned at Lisa over her mother's head.

She levelled a glare at him and he winced in mock pain as it lanced him.

Lisa resisted the strong urge to flip him the finger. He was looking far too comfortable for someone that had just met his future mother in-law wearing nothing save the barest modesty that a cereal box could afford. He scrubbed a hand through his hair and grinned at her suddenly quite boyish and she fought to hold onto her irritation.

If she was going to melt every time he flashed those pearly whites at her this wasn't going to be much of a partnership.

Greg clapped his hands together effectively drawing attention to himself and looked down at Alma with his best smile.

"Breakfast?"

At the mention of food, Lisa's stomach suddenly decided that it needed to be divested of its contents. She put a hand to her mouth and muttered something that could have been mistaken for 'excuse me' before she hurtled out of the room for the nearest bathroom.

"Well, this is…dysfunctional." Alma noted in a conversational tone.

Greg shrugged. "Compared to the rest of our relationship…not so much." He limped to the fridge and fetched a bottle of mineral water and then snagged the crackers.

He stopped momentarily indecisive before Alma made the decision for him. "I'll get started on breakfast, sonny, if you go and see to my girl."

Greg nodded and grinned in thanks before going off to see how Lisa was doing. "Yes, ma'am."

"Call me, Momma, dear. Everybody else around here does." Alma shrugged as she fetched a pan from the cupboard and began to look for eggs and ham. "And I want to hear all about it when you get back, y'hear?"

Greg paused in the doorway long enough to formulate a reply. "Yes, momma." He said with the barest of hesitation and was rewarded with a thousand watt grin from the older woman.

Greg shook his head as he moseyed for the bathroom.

Dysfunctional indeed.

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"So what do we tell her?" Greg asked Lisa as she pulled on various layers of clothing. Finally over her morning sickness for the day, she was dressing hurriedly so she could get down stairs and do some damage control on her mother.

There wasn't another being alive that could match Alma Cuddy for putting the word out on something and if Lisa didn't watch it everyone would know about her pregnancy before she'd gotten fully used to the idea herself.

"What do you mean tell her?" Lisa asked as she pulled another sweater on and finally pulled on a pair of thick socks that weren't exactly attractive but they would prevent frostbite at the bare minimum.

"Well, she wants to know how we got together, we could just tell her that I got you drunk one night and had my wicked way with you on my piano but I figure you might want to censor it a bit." House mused as she bent over to lace up her boots, he was momentarily distracted by the sight of her in those wickedly tight jeans and had to shake his head and look away before he forgot about the family member cooking up a storm downstairs.

"Uh…no. That wouldn't be suitable." Lisa said mildly as she bit her lip and thought about what might be plausible. She sat on the bed next to him and tapped her fingers against her lips as she thought. She turned to him. "For the record: I wasn't drunk and I knew exactly what I was doing. What do you suggest? You are a better liar than me." She smiled at him and nudged him with her shoulder.

Greg blinked for a moment and decided to let that slide seeing as it was true. "You were helping me recover from the Ketamine treatment and we grew closer, did the nasty in as many marvellous ways our conniving minds could come up with and then fell in love. Now you're knocked up and I'm doing the honourable thing by getting hitched to you." He said on a teasing grin.

She smiled back and then schooled her features into a mask of annoyance. "Ball and chain am I?"

"Of course, you don't think that I'd be shackled to anything else do you?" He smirked at her and they enjoyed a small quiet moment which was shattered abruptly by the sound of a slamming door and a loud masculine voice bellowing.

"She's WHAT!?" A small pause. "WITH _WHO?!!"_

Greg sighed. "Let me guess, that's your extremely large and overprotective brother arrived to defend your honour."

Lisa smiled at him and laced her fingers through his as the sound of heavy boots on the stairs reverberated through the house. "Yeah, sorry."

Greg shrugged and a sudden gleam entered his eye. "Well, if I'm going to get beaten up I might as well deserve it." He grinned wolfishly at her before his mouth covered hers in a hot kiss and pulled her over his lap so that she straddled him. She smiled against his lips knowing that he had no idea of what he was playing with but wound her arms around his neck anyway.

The door crashed open.

"YOU!!"


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Hey, hey, kiddies! Long time no…uh, I suppose read is technically the right term. Anyhow, WHY CAN'T I SEE THE THIRD SERIES? **

**WHHHHYYYYYYYYY?!!**

**I was on youtube and I was watching the huddy videos (coz I can) and lo! Season three spoilers abound people!**

**Grrrrrrrrrrr. I hate not having satellite and I hate not seeing the third season and I hate not being able to read some fanfictions coz they contain season three spoilers and…well, I could go on but I think y'all get the picture. **

**Anyways. Guess who got a new laptop for Christmas!! Mwaha! So I have been wandering about with my happy-as-a-clam-smile on for…yonks and have just now arranged for it to be connected to the internet. I have completely given up on the other computer and have just decided that it can go to the big customer services terminal in the sky. **

**Anyway, slight problems with the whole updating thing coz of trips to the hospital and going away for the weekend (coincidentally, one lead to the other) and me generally just being a lazy bugger…but y'all love me anyway. **

**Anyways, I have spouted enough crap for today and y'all gotta review coz…it's a new law! **

**Yeah. **

**Buh-bye.**

**Chapter 23**

"I can't believe you hit him." Lisa grumbled as she pressed the ice filled flannel to Greg's cheek.

"Why? He hurt you, so I hurt him back." Daniel shrugged his mountain sized shoulders as he sullenly answered his younger sister.

Greg carefully worked his jaw and winced as the split skin on his cheek tugged painfully. Daniel's ring had left Greg with a charming, if small, gash on his cheekbone after the wider man's fist had collided with Greg's face at high velocity. "Relax, it's not the first time someone's hit me."

"I thought you'd have been safe with my family though." Lisa grumbled as she pulled away the blood spotted towel to inspect the damage. "I think this needs stitches."

"It does not!"

Lisa arched a brow at the protestations from both men and then reapplied the towel with slightly more force than was necessary and shot a glare over her shoulder to Daniel.

"Boys!" Alma sighed as she sizzled steaks in the pan along with the eggs and toast on under the grill. "Lauren's here." She said absently just before the back door kicked open and a younger, fairer, version of Lisa sauntered into the kitchen with a wide grin on her face.

"Good morning, star-shine, the world says hello!" She informed them brightly before grabbing a kitchen chair by its back, spinning it on one leg and then straddling it in order to stare at Greg in an inquisitive manner.

Greg peeled the towel away from his face and tossed it the length of the kitchen to splat into the sink. He grinned in appreciation as a full breakfast of steak and eggs was planted in front of him by Alma.

Lauren turned to Lisa and jerked her thumb at Greg. "Who's the tripod, sis?"

Alma smoothly slapped the back of Lauren's head with her spatula on her return to the kitchen. "Manners." She warned softly on a smirk before sashaying back to fill another plate. "Lisa, you up for breakfast?"

"Just toast I think." Lisa replied as she joined her mother and snagged a few pieces of browned bread for herself.

"Ah, still on that 'Deny Thyself All Pleasure' diet?" Lauren drawled and then clapped her hands excitedly as a breakfast was planted in front of her. She lifted the steak in her fingers and bit it directly with a sound of muffled pleasure as she chewed.

Greg had seen less gruesome sights on Animal Planet.

"Just ignore her. She's not fully house trained yet." Lisa said with a pointed look to her sister.

Lauren casually flipped her the bird and turned back to scrutinise Greg more carefully. "You got a name or does Big Sis just keep you for her own amusement?"

Greg's shoulders slumped. "I'm just a lowly pet. She only untied me from the bed so that I could eat." Greg shot back without a thought and a sudden hush descended over the kitchen.

Lisa just rolled her eyes and sighed as she sipped her tea.

Daniel and Lauren wore twin looks of stunned amazement before a slow flush crept up Daniel's neck and Lauren threw back her head on a guffaw of laughter. "Oh, priceless, I may have to review my opinion of tripods. They're not _all_ idiots."

"Tripod?" Greg asked as he finished his breakfast and Alma swept away the plate in record time.

"It's what Lauren calls men. Most accurate in your case, dear." Alma said on a smile before turning back to the kitchen.

"Momma!" Lisa gaped, scandalised and Lauren's eyes narrowed as she realised she'd missed something.

"What? Didn't you tell me that he used to have a cane?" Momma asked innocently. "Besides," she added on a sly smile, "at least I know for sure he's not Jewish."

Greg chuckled silently to himself and pasted a look of innocence on his face as Lisa turned back to him. She glowered, a flush staining her cheeks, and then settled to drink her tea.

"So…a new in-law?" Lauren asked as she scooped eggs into her mouth and then sucked her fingers clean with wet smacking sounds.

"No horror stories." Alma warned from the kitchen.

"What? Like the fact that this isn't even all the immediate family?" Lauren asked. The picture of innocence.

Greg felt a cool feeling of dread settle in his stomach as he turned to his future wife who had developed a sudden fascination with the kitchen wallpaper. "How many siblings do you have?"

Lisa turned back to him and smiled that smile that meant bad news was coming his way. "Six." She informed him in a slightly strangled voice.

"_SIX?" _

"Yes; Daniel, myself, Grace, Bobby, Annabelle, Jason and Lauren's the youngest." Lisa continued in a defensive tone at his accusing glare. "I was_ going_ to tell you."

"Yeah, that's nothing, most of them are married with kids so there's well over twenty of us." Lauren mopped up the gravy on her plate with a chunk of bread. "You haven't even met Daddy yet." She said with unholy glee.

"We're not a plague, Lorrie, I'm sure Greg can handle himself." Daniel said gruffly from his position lounging against the wall.

"Yeah, if they all greet me like you did then I should be out of traction in a few months." Greg snarked as he shot a look to Lisa. She smiled at him sympathetically and squeezed his hand between her cool fingers.

"You'll be fine." She told him, though she sounded like she was trying to convince herself as well as him.

Greg was not comforted.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"It's just dinner." Lisa said defensively as she put on her silver teardrop earrings and then carefully eyed her reflection in the mirror as she smoothed a hand over her heavy winter skirt. The skirt was corduroy and a deep wine red colour contrasted with the bright white shirt with its high collar emphasising the slim column of her neck.

"No, it's the Spanish Inquisition _disguised_ as dinner." Greg's reply was slightly muffled from beneath his towel as he limped through from the bathroom, scrubbing his hair dry with one hand.

"It's our last night here, they just want to give us a proper send off before we head back to Jersey." She turned to watch him as he sank onto the edge of the bed and tightened the towel around his hips with a slight scowl in her direction.

"No, they want to grill the new boyfriend." He tried to keep his bad mood as she turned around and bent over closer to the mirror to inspect that her make up really was flawless. Damn, if she didn't look fine.

She smiled slightly as she saw his reflection checking her out. A familiar heat tingled through her veins as she watched a stray water droplet trickle down over the curve of once pectoral, bump over his abs and then disappear into the hem of the towel. She licked her lips and then raised her eyes to meet his in the mirror. She straightened and then turned to him.

"I'd hardly describe you as a boy." She smirked at him and smoothed her hair back in its clip at her nape.

He tilted his head and dropped the towel in his hands so that it pooled over his lap. "Convince me." He said slowly.

"Of what? That you should go to dinner or that you're not a boy?" She asked as she sauntered over to him and rested her hands on his shoulders and swept away the crystalline droplets of water there.

His hands found her waist and he stroked his thumbs in circles over her hips as he looked up at her. "Whichever one ends with you beneath me in bed and screaming is fine with me." He said on a grin.

She smiled and bent so that her lips brushed against his. "We'll be late."

"We're the guests of honour, they can't start without us." He pulled her an inch or two closer and nipped her lips affectionately, enjoying the way her breath hitched as he did so. He moved to pull her closer but she resisted.

"You'll get me all wet." She explained and he grinned.

"That's exactly what I intended." He replied and pouted when she pulled away. Instead of turning away and tossing his clothes at him, as he expected, she picked up the second towel that had pooled on his lap and then tugged him to his feet.

He watched her as she gathered the towel in her hands and then swept it over his chest in long smooth strokes. She dried his chest and stomach and then his arms. He shivered at the sensation of the towel rasping his skin and then the smooth feel of her palm coming after it, to make sure she'd dried him properly.

She stalked around him and dried his back and his neck before carefully drying his ears. She pressed a soft kiss on his shoulder and then circled around to his front again. She smiled up at him and then dropped to her knees and swept his legs dry.

He watched her, her head bent and intent to her task. He opened his mouth to speak but found he couldn't think of anything appropriate to say. She looked up to meet his eyes and grinned that thousand watt smile of hers.

He reached down and helped her to her feet. He tugged her against his body and she came willingly. The towel dropped to the floor as he angled his mouth over hers once more. She gripped his shoulders and arched to him.

His fingers moved to pluck at the buttons of her shirtfront but a grin lit his face as he thought of something better. With a twist of his wrist, the remaining towel around his hips gave up completely and slapped to the floor.

She made a murmuring sound of approval as her hands closed around him and had him gasping. Her lips played over the hot skin of his neck and her teeth scraped his collar bone making him shiver.

"Come here." He ordered in a pleading tone as he sat down on the stool in front of her dresser and pulled her closer, sliding his hands under the heavy material of her skirt, enjoying the way she whimpered in anticipation. His fingers caught on her panties and slid them down her legs and off with little difficulty.

His hands returned to her hips, urging her towards him, and she straddled him with little further encouragement. Her hands smoothed over the breadth of his shoulders with a murmur of purely female appreciation.

She twisted her hips against him and he moaned as she engulfed him in her heat. She smiled down at him and he grinned back as he took her mouth in a steaming kiss.

It turned out that they were actually more than a little late.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Okay, here I am, you'd thought that I'd forgotten, hadn't you? **

**This is sort of a last chapter and an epilogue all rolled into one. I noticed that in my first few fics I tend to go a little bit…fluffy I suppose is the word, near the end. Mebbey lose the spark between them, which is why I've chosen such explosive stuff for my latest fics. **

**So…bit angsty but still happy, in fact a bit snappish and sappy as well, but if you don't like it tough, coz I have completely lost inspiration for this one. **

**Review me anyway. **

**Chapter 24**

_**One Year On…**_

House strode in through the doors to his wife's office and tottered slightly to the side as his daughter saw something shiny on the wall and lunged towards it. Cuddy looked up and smirked as she saw Lydia make another grabbing motion for the picture frame that had enthralled her. House glared at her.

'Your daughter is fussing again.' He told her.

Cuddy stood and rounded the desk reaching out to take the five month old baby. 'Why is it, that whenever she's not being adorable, she's mine?' She asked House as he flopped onto the couch and looked up at his wife as she bounced their daughter on her hip.

'Because.' He told her as he settled his head on his hand and attempted to keep the goofy smile, that he could feel creeping up on him, off his face.

'Oh, well that's alright then.' She said sarcastically.

'Glad you think so, come here.' He patted the couch next to him and she looked warily at him.

'I'm supposed to be working.'

'You're due a break.' He told her and reached out to pull her down next to him. Lydia babbled happily at him and he reached out and stroked her baby soft cheek with one finger. She was delighted and reached out with her little hands and latched onto the digit before he could take it away from her. She pulled it this way and that and scrutinised it carefully from every angle with bright blue-green eyes that she shared with her mother. He allowed himself a smile as she lost interest and then turned to her mother to investigate the dark curling hair that tumbled down about her face.

'She's definitely got my good looks.' He said proudly.

'Oh, did it all yourself, did you?' Lisa asked archly and he shifted closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist.

'Ah, well, I think I did my fair share.'

'Uh-huh and thirty seconds of pleasure on your part is equal to seven hours of labour on my part…how?'

'You are just determined to pick a fight aren't you?' He groused but didn't push her away. She'd been funny the last few days, and he'd left it because he'd thought it might just be the stresses added onto her job with the building of the new cardio wing. 'What is it?'

She leant her head against his arm and Lydia babbled softly as she laid her head against her mother's throat. She turned her head and met his eyes, her fingers lifted to his cheek as she looked for the right words.

The door swung open.

'Oh, er, um, sorry, Dr Cuddy.' The nurse hesitated in the doorway and Lisa heaved in a fortifying breath as she dropped her hand and turned to see the young woman wringing her hands in the doorway.

'What is it, Clara?'

'Miss Don Hewitt is here to see you about the mural in the paediatric wards.' Clara said and then bolted out of the office as quickly as she could.

'Duty calls. Do you want me to take her?' Lisa stood, balancing Lydia on her hip and gently removing questing fingers from her earrings.

'Do you want me to take her?'

For a moment, a look of annoyance flickered across her face but she turned and smiled down at Lydia instead. He rose to his feet and held his arms out to take their baby girl again. Lisa shook her head and took a step away.

'No, it's fine, you've got to go and see your patient anyway.'

He frowned slightly at the dismissal and worked his jaw as he considered pushing it. They still argued everyday, it was just part of who they were, but it was rarely about anything serious. This just stunk of seriousness.

'Okay. I'll see you later then?'

'I'm just seeing Don-Hewitt and then going home, so probably at dinner.' She murmured and fussed with things on her desk. She gathered up a folder and juggled it momentarily with Lydia.

'You sure you don't want me to take her?'

'I told you it's fine.' She said on the edge of a snap and he held up his hands in surrender.

'Okay. Alright, see you at dinner.' Annoyance flickered through him as he turned and walked straight out of the office without even saying goodbye.

Lisa watched him go and bounced her daughter a moment. 'When you grow up, don't take after me and be such an idiot okay?' She smiled at her little girl and Lydia cooed softly as she patted her mother's cheek in a comforting gesture. She sighed and then opened the door and walked out into the hospital to head for Don-Hewitt and paediatrics.

House walked into the elevator and stabbed the button. The doors hissed open and he smothered a groan when he saw Wilson inside the metal car. The reason he had been sent to Lisa's office in the first place.

'Ah, so you did get here.'

'Har, har.' House muttered and stepped into the elevator.

'Well, at least you're not afraid to admit to your friends that your wife terrifies you.' Wilson smirked at him.

'You're afraid of her too.' House defended himself.

'You find out what's up?' Wilson asked as they left the elevator and walked along towards their respective offices.

House scowled. 'No.'

'What is it that's supposed to be wrong again?' Wilson asked as they entered House's office. House sat behind the desk and snatched up his thinky-thinky ball.

'What do you mean "supposed to be"? there is definitely something amiss.' House scowled at his friend.

'Amiss?'

'Not right, abnormal, against the grain…take your pick.'

'Okay, fine. What are her symptoms then?'

House threw the ball up and caught it before tossing it high again. 'She's just been…different. Quieter. She definitely doesn't want to tell me about it yet, whenever I bring it up she gets pissy.' House tossed the ball higher and higher and jumped in surprise as it banged off the ceiling.

'Well, calling her "pissy" probably isn't going to help getting her to tell you.'

House shot him a look. 'Like I'd actually tell her that.'

'Of course you tell her that.'

House's scowl deepened. He scraped his finger nails against his jaw as a suddenly horrible though reared in his head. He darted a look at Wilson out the corner of his eye and then looked away, not even wanting to say it.

Wilson caught the glance and stared harder at his friend. 'What is it?'

'I was just thinking, maybe she…' He couldn't finish the thought and stared out the window instead.

'Maybe she feels trapped in a marriage that she didn't really consider properly because she was pregnant with Lydia?' Wilson supplied and House wheeled on him.

'She said that?' He demanded. His worst unspoken feelings realised.

Wilson shook his head rapidly. 'Of course not. She's only madly in love with you, it's really actually quite sickening.' Wilson considered him a moment. 'She's probably just done something that she thinks you're going to be pissed about…like inviting the family over.'

House's had a sudden urge to plough his fist into Wilson's face for jerking him around like that. He hadn't even thought of that. He shook his head. 'No, she wouldn't. At least, not without giving me a head start.' House dismissed the idea.

'You could always just demand to know what it is. You're good at that.'

'I think you're right, Jimmy-boy, simplest solution is usually the best.' House thumped his think ball against the table and then rose to his feet. He's left the office, going to find his wife and child.

Greg opened the front door and poked his head in through the opening. 'Lisa?' He stepped through into the entry hall, newly decorated since he'd brought her back from Michigan.

'In the kitchen!' She called through to him and he strode through the house, his limp barely noticeable as he walked past Lydia, who was on her back on a blanket in the middle of the living room floor. Lisa could see her from the kitchen as she chopped vegetables on the granite worktop. Lydia babbled happily as she batted at toys that were arched over her. He stooped and tickled her belly in greeting. She looked up at him with those big clever eyes of hers and shrieked a laugh. Then she returned to her toys and he was summarily dismissed.

He walked to the kitchen and then leant against the doorframe and watched Lisa maul some carrots with her knife. 'Hey.' He said and she looked up with a tight smile.

'Hey, you get the MRI results you wanted?'

He nodded.

Silence between them stretched and tautened. 'Lisa,' he said slowly. 'You need to tell me what's wrong. I know there's something, you've been skittish all week, if there's something up, I want to help but I can't do anything if you don't let me in.' He told her gently and stepped towards her.

The knife rattled slightly against the board as her hand shook. Real worry stole through him as she stilled under deliberate thought and then settled the knife down and wiped her hands on a flannel as she ran her tongue nervously over her lips.

'I do have something to tell you…' She trailed off and then rallied herself. 'But I'm not sure how you're going to take it. You've been so busy lately, case after case and…' She waved her hand as her heels clicked over the slate tiles.

'Whatever it is, I can make time.' An unfamiliar sensation of guilt trickled hot through his chest at the recent weeks of him coming and going at all hours, leaving dinners, missing dinners, not being there for breakfast.

'I…uh.'

He took her arms in his hands and looked right into her eyes. 'Tell me.'

'I'm pregnant.'

Greg went completely still. He even stopped breathing as he stared at her. Totally stunned. 'Wuh…really?'

'No. I've been winding myself up about nothing all week. Of course, really!' She snapped at him.

One of those dreaded big stupid goofy grins spread across his face.

'What are you upset about?' He asked her.

'I thought you'd be…mad.'

'Why? Another stunning example of proof that I really am as virile as I've been telling everyone.' He wrapped his arms around her waist and the grin wouldn't leave his face as he rested his forehead against hers.

'So you're pleased?'

He cupped her face. 'Of course.' He dropped a hand to her still flat belly and rubbed it thoughtfully. 'A boy this time?'

'I don't think I can put in an order, Greg.' She smiled as she tilted her lips towards his. He brushed a kiss over her mouth.

'I can't believe I missed it. I was really worried you know.' He scolded gently.

'Why?' She seemed genuinely confused. She rubbed her hands over his shoulders in a habit she'd developed since they'd started living together.

'I thought that…you'd regretted marrying me.'

She tilted her head and smiled. 'Don't be stupid.' She said flatteringly quickly. 'I told you, I'm not going anywhere and even if I have to, I'll come back.'

He pulled her close and kissed her again. 'Good, coz you ain't getting rid of me.'

'Glad to hear it.' She wrapped her arms about his neck and stretched up against him. 'You'd better watch or I'm going to start getting emotional in a minute.' She murmured against his lips.

'Hmm, I love you.' He said.

She stiffened in surprise. 'You never say that.'

'I believe the correct response is "I love you too" and I do so say it.'

'When?' She demanded, but immensely glad anyway. 'And you know I love you.'

'Whenever I feel that you need to hear it.' He answered confidently.

She tilted her head at him. 'I'd like to hear it more often.' She said softly.

'But, honeeeey, the other kids make fun of me.' He pouted and she snorted before turning away from him as he mock whined. 'Ah, no, I've had enough of the turning away for the past week.' He sighed. 'Alright. I love you, I love you and I love you.' He steered her out f the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. 'Happy?'

She put her hands over his low on her belly. 'Ecstatic.' She considered Lydia a moment. 'Do you think she'll like having a little brother or sister?'

'Sure can barely even roll over, I don't think she cares one way or the other.'

That earned him and elbow in the ribs and a glare over the shoulder.

'No, I think she'll love it.' He amended swiftly.

The watched her kick her legs and shout to them before patting the rattling toys swinging above her head. She was so lively and happy that Lisa couldn't help but grin. Lydia gave an innocent rattle and extra hard belt and it clattered against the frame from which it hung. The new noise startled her and she whimpered in fright.

Greg released Lisa immediately so that she could go and comfort their baby girl. Lisa knelt beside Lydia and tucked her hair back so it didn't fall in Lydia's little round face. 'Hey, darling, did you get frightened by the big nasty rattle?' She picked up Lydia before she could burble and answer. 'You're going to have a baby brother or sister, what do you think of that, hmm?' She bounced Lydia on her hip and then the smiles were back.

'Told you she would be pleased.' Greg told her as he wrapped his arms around both of them. He looked down at his small, but growing, family and his smile widened. 'Almost as happy as I am.'

'You? Happy? Surely not.'

'Yeah. Me. Happy.' He dropped a kiss on Lydia's head and then another on his wife's lips. 'But don't tell anyone, need to keep up my image.'

'Your secret's safe with me.' She assured him and leant into him with their daughter between them.

It had taken him a while, it had taken them both a while to find each other, but now that they had, they weren't letting go any time soon.

Finally, he'd come home.

**The End**


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